Miss Me?
by Emconn
Summary: Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo has always tried to forget about his past. But one girl holds a special place in his heart and he can't forget her. What will happen when she comes back into his life? Will he ignore his feelings once more or will he chase after the one that got away? [follows the TV series staring with season 2]
1. Chapter 1

3rd Person POV:

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was waiting in line to get some coffee. He had gotten up unusually early that morning and couldn't fall back asleep. So he decided to get some coffee to help him through a day of boring paperwork. This was one of the downsides of NCIS, not every day do you have a case. So what do you do on the off days?...Paperwork. As he was walking out he noticed a very attractive woman sitting at one of the outside tables doing work on her cellphone. And she was alone. So naturally he went up to her taking in her revealing outfit and sunglasses and hat hiding her face from him.

"Well hi there." He greeted in a sultry voice. The woman merely looked up at him with an amused expression. When she did, he couldn't help but think that she looked really familiar, but he shook off this thought.

"So are you alone?" he continued. She laughed and shook her head 'no'. He frowned again at her unusual response.

"I'm actually waiting for my boyfriend" she explained. Tony pursed his lips thoughtfully quickly saying goodbye and walking away. But he still couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her from somewhere….. Oh well he had to get to work anyway. Little did he know that this mysterious woman knew exactly who he was and what was in store for him later on today.

Tony's POV:

I hear the familiar 'ding' of the elevator opening and look up as Gibbs walks through the doors.

"We got a new team member." he says in passing. McGee, Kate and I just look at each other in shock. There was no grumbling, no shouting, no glaring at the director, he didn't even slam anything on his desk. _Since when is Gibbs ok with changes to his team?_ _Well those that he didn't hand pick anyway..._

"What?" I ask him, just to be sure I understood right. Gibbs just looks at me and gives me that 'duh' look.

"Did I stutter DiNozzo?"

"No it's just that usually you aren't a huge fan of new people." I reply still wondering why he seems ok with it.

"It's not my choice" he simply answers. _Exactly…_ As the elevators open I look up to see someone who I never thought I would ever see again. But I was so glad that I did.

Claire's POV:

I walk off the elevator into the bullpen area. Heading towards the section I was directed to, I spotted a familiar face and smiled.

"Tony?" I ask not fully believing that he's really here. I had heard that Tony worked here but seeing it in person is so much better.

"Claire? What are you doing here?" he asked his face looking just as shocked as I am.

"I'm working here now" I answer as he comes around his desk to bring me into a huge hug.

"What no way? How did you end up here? I thought you were doing undercover gigs and stuff for another agency." Tony rambles still trying to process that I was really there.

"Yea well things change when you ignore people for years" I answered smirking. Since I just reunited with Tony I might as well get a little guilt trip out of it, and by the look on his face it was working. But before he could respond I see an older man with grey hair and steely eyes walk up to us not looking too happy.

"Hey DiNozzo? Care to explain?" _Well it looks like someone isn't in the best of moods today._ I look at Tony waiting to see how he would explain this to what I assume is his boss.

"Boss this is Claire, we went to college together up at Ohio State". I stuck my hand out for the man to shake.

"Claire Conners, are you by chance Special Agent Gibbs?"

"You bet, and I'm guessing that you're the new agent to be joining our team." he states looking me up and down. _Talk about wary._

"What?!" we both turn towards Tony. He had a shocked and yet happy expression on his face but when we turned he quickly put a poker face back on.

"That gonna be a problem DiNozzo?" Gibbs asks as he turns toward him expectantly.

"No! Of course not boss" Tony replies as he just beams at me. I smile back just as brightly. Gibbs gives us both a look and just walks off.

"Well it looks like we'll be working together huh?" I commented, nudging Tony with my shoulder. I glance around and notice that there are two other people in this section. The brunette girl comes up to me with a friendly smile and shakes my hand.

"Caitlin Todd, it's nice to meet you."

"Claire Conners" I reply. I can tell that I already like her, she just puts off a friendly aura. The other man comes over towards me from his desk on the other side. He scans over me curiously for a second as he walks over but quickly shakes it off and sticks his hand out to me.

"Tim McGee."

"Claire Conners. It's nice to meet you." I shake his hand smiling. Everyone just kinda looks as Tony and I and I can tell they're wondering how we know each other.

"So how is it that you two know each other?" _There it is._ Before I can say anything Tony starts talking for me.

"We were best friends in college, I was playing some pickup basketball on campus and this hot girl just shows up and wants to join. Of course we let her play cause it's an easy way to show off our amazing talent and charm." He pauses to give me a cheesy grin and I just give him a look.

"That's not the end of it…" I told him knowingly. He just chuckles and continues on with the story.

"Well turns out this girl is quite the baller and she schooled each and every one of us. And weirdly enough I thought she was cool and we've been friends ever since." He finished with a shrug.

"How come we haven't met you before then?" McGee asks.

"We just haven't talked to each other in quite a few years. I think we lost touch a couple years after graduation." I explained looking to Tony for confirmation. He nodded. We didn't mean to lose touch but sometimes it just happens.

"Oh wow that's pretty cool. I didn't think Tony could keep female company that long." McGee says innocently. I laughed while Tony just scowls at him.

"Tell me what you really think Probie." Sarcasticly remarks. I pat his shoulder in a mock sympathy. He looks at his watch and then walks around to gather stuff at his desk.

"Well since the day is done for us why don't we head over for dinner and catch up?" He asks me while holding his jacket, looking much like kid who just asked to go to his favorite theme park.

"Ok, but I'm kinda new around here so you pick the place." I respond, smiling at the grin that breaks across his face. As we walk out I turn and wave to my new teammates. On the way out I decided that I would drop a little bombshell on him.

"Hey Tony?"

"Yeah?"

"I noticed that you're still shamelessly picking up women outside of coffee shops…" I told him with a small smirk on my face. He stopped walking and looked down at me with realization.

"That was you?!" again I laughed at his baffled expression.

"I knew you seemed familiar! Well…this is awkward." He said laughing it off. I watched as he got this devious glint in his eye and turned to me. I knew what he was going to ask.

"No, I don't actually have a boyfriend... I was just undercover and it's not like I could've told you who I was at that moment." I told him before he got another word in.

"Well, I sure liked that outfit though." He teased. I shoved him playfully as the two of us carried on laughing about the whole situation. That night me and Tony caught back up and then I drove home. Tomorrow I would have to start all the paperwork I have to fill out. But for now I was just happy that I got this new job and reconnected with one of my best friends. Life couldn't get any better right now.


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own NCIS or any of the storyline, characters, ect... other than my own OC and the bits and pieces I add to the story.**

[Good Wives' Club 1]

 **Claire's POV:**

I walked into the NCIS headquarters, rode up the elevator, and headed over to my desk. I was the first one there this morning so I could finish up on all my paperwork that I still had. Being a new agent was so much fun. *note to the sarcasm*. I love being an agent, don't get me wrong, but all the paperwork you have to take care of when you first start is such a pain. Especially when changing agencies. So I've been coming in earlier to get it done as soon as possible to I can officially start in the field. Eventually I finish and run it up the stairs to the director and I'm finally cleared for duty. _Yes!_ As I walk back to the bullpen area I hear the elevator ding and look up to see Kate, Tony, and McGee walk in. Tony spots me first and smiles. Seeing his gaze Kate calls over to me.

"Hey Claire why are you here so early?" Kate asked as I walked toward her desk.

"I just finished up my paperwork so now I can work out in the field with you all now!" I told her beaming.

She immediately matched my smile. "That's great! I look forward to it. Having another female around will be refreshing." The two boys shot her an offended look.

"Nicely done probie Jr." Tony congratulated me from his desk. _Probie Jr….really?_ McGee looked over at him looking like he had the same thought as I did. I turned towards Tony at his desk.

"Probie jr.? Tony, don't call me that. It just sounds…weird." He thought about it for a moment, scrunching up his face a little.

"Yea….it doesn't really stick does it? I guess only Probie works. But I can't call you that cause I'm already calling McGee that. And that would just be weird if I called both of you Probie." he babbled on looking bothered by the thought. The fact that he was really thinking hard about this made me chuckle. He always made me laugh, even when he wasn't trying. I looked over at Kate and she just rolled her eyes at his antics. I made my way back over to my desk. Suddenly Gibbs powerwalked right through the bullpen to his desk and started grabbing his gear.

"We got a case in Norfolk, grab your gear and lets go." _yes my first field assignment!_ I immediately grabbed my bag and chased after the rest of the team. Gibbs glanced over at me standing beside McGee in the elevator. He turned back facing forward.

"Welcome aboard Conners." I smiled as the elevators closed

 **3rd person POV:**

The agents pulled up in the NCIS van onto the base. As they get out of the car a man in uniform approached them.

"Agent Gibbs?" the man asks walking up to them

"Commander Hutchins, Agents Todd, McGee, Conners, and DiNozzo. How long since anyone has lived in these units?" As the Commander and Gibbs walked ahead discussing the situation the four agents started their own conversation.

"When Gibbs introduced us he introduced you, then McGee, the Claire and then me. Why did he mention me last?" Tony asked walking alongside Kate.

Claire spoke up from behind them, "You are kidding?..." He turned and looked back at her.

"No. For Gibbs to mess up the seniority order like that… it's just…I don't know it seems weird that's all", he stated as they started walking to the back of the house. McGee tried to put his own input into the conversation.

"I don't think it really means.."

"Probie…" before he could finish DiNozzo cut him off. Tim immediately stopped talking and looked over at Claire for some support but she just gave him a shrug.

"I wouldn't put too much stock in it", Kate told him dismissively . Tony looked at her curiously.

"Why would you say that?"

She simply replied "because I don't think it has anything to do with seniority."

"What do you think it has to do with?"

"My guess would be level of intelligence and general competence" she answered with a smirk. Claire let out a snort, trying to contain her laughter. Tony slowed his walk, taking in what Kate had said. Agent Todd gave him a smug look as she and Claire kept walking forward leaving the boys immediately stopped and held his hand up for McGee, who was behind him, to stop too.

"I didn't say anything. "McGee defended with a confused expression.

Tony slowly turned around. "…it's what you were thinking Probie." He whispered before continuing forward, leaving behind a confused McGee. After a moment he caught back up to Tony and started walking beside him.

"Why do you only call me Probie? Claire is newer than I am." Tony paused to think about it.

"I don't know…. I've known her longer….and it just doesn't seem right calling her that." He gave a shoulder shrug and kept walking. Tim looked at him incredulously. Tony passing over the opportunity to lord a position of over someone?! To back off of the hazing that came with being new to his team? This must be one special girl is Tony was willing to give up all that.

 **Claire's POV:**

I walked over with Kate over to where Gibbs and the Commander were talking. We overheard part of their conversation as they peered down a hole in the backyard. When the construction crew had entered earlier today, this small sinkhole appeared and led into some hollow walkway underground.

"An old bunker? "Gibbs asked.

The commander just shook his head "We don't know what it is". _This looks like it's going be an interesting case._

I was standing beside Tony while McGee was handling a snake lens that was put down the hole to see what was inside. Gibbs gave him directions from what was showing on the screen.

"A little bit left", Gibbs ordered. McGee obediently moved over a bit. Gibbs slowly looked over at him. "Your other left McGee" he deadpanned.

"Sorry boss", he quickly answered. _Poor guy looks a little embarrassed_. Tony smiled at his mistake and took his opportunity to tease him.

"You a little nervous, Probie?" I smacked him across his chest with the back of my hand.

"OW!" Tony shied away rubbing is chest. McGee sent me a thankful smirk while he ignored Tony's comment.

"Whoa hold it right there!" Gibbs said. Tony and I walked over along with the commander and Kate. We looked at the screen seeing a hallway in the corner of the room underground.

"The tunnel leads to the house" I said. Gibbs nodded his head towards Tony and I so we set off to search it.

 **3rd Person POV:**

Tony, Gibbs, and Claire slowly made their way through the abandoned building. The searched through the very little clutter that was left inside, looking for something leading to that tunnel. Tony picked up a mattress and made a gagged at the smell of it. Claire joined him in the room. The two of them continued to look through cabinets and walls for any panels. As Tony opened one of the closets he noticed an air vent in the center of it.

"That's a little weird" he muttered as he peered closer. Claire heard him and made her way behind him as he opened the air vent and breathed in the smell coming from the other side. It smelled like a decomposing body. They immediately started clearing things away to get to the wall better. As he rolled up the carpet to reveal a trap door he shouted for Gibbs.

"Boss over here!" Gibbs quickly came in behind the two of them to see the ladder that led underground. Soon the rest of the team arrived Gibbs started giving out orders.

"Kate, McGee, Claire, you're with me. DiNozzo, wait here for Ducky"

As they started climbing down the latter, Tony went to protest but decided against it. Claire shot him a sympathetic look. She knew he hated being left out.

The four agents moved through the dark and small hallway. At the end they discovered the body of a woman who had been dead for a good while, chained to the wall on a bed. The room was quaint, like something you would see out of a really old magazine.

Once they got over the initial shock of it all they immediately went to work. McGee taking photos while Kate, Claire, and Gibbs searched the room to see what exactly had happened.

 **Claire's POV:**

The woman looked an awful lot like a mummy out of some old movie. She was decomposed and decayed, and was wearing a dirty wedding dress with her wrist chained to the wall. _What kind of sicko would do something like this?_

I walked over beside Gibbs examining where the shackle was attached to the wall.

"The nails were hammered in at a left to right angle, he might have been left handed" I told Gibbs. I stood up and saw McGee looking disgusted with the scene before him.

"Ever seen anything like this before boss?" he asked. I was curious too. Was this how a lot of the cases were like?

"Only in the movies" He answered with a solemn expression. Just then I felt my phone ding, meaning I had a text. I looked at the number and saw that it was Tony's phone

 **-Ducky is here.-T**

"Ducky's here I'm gonna go help him and Palmer bring the stuff in." Gibbs nodded his head at me to go. I made my way up the ladder right as Ducky and Palmer came into the house.

"Where's our bride DiNozzo?" Ducky asked. Tony lead them over to the trapdoor and gave them directions on how to get the room, while he kept texting on his phone. I looked over his shoulder and took a peek at who he was texting at a time like this. It was some girl. I rolled my eyes at his antics, some things never change.

"Really Tony?.." He jumped a little bit. I guess he didn't notice I was behind him. He just gave me a cheeky smile, as if that fixes everything. I just rolled my eyes at him again and walked toward the latter. Palmer paled when he looked down the hole and looked back over at Tony.

"You're kidding right?" All three of us turned to look at him. Palmer just gave a small uncomfortable smile. I walked over to him as Ducky was situating his stuff to take down.

"Are you alright Palmer? You don't look so good." He looked over at me and gave me another weak smile.

"Oh…yea…I'm perfectly fine." I didn't believe him for a second but decided not to press. As we started handing Palmer and Ducky the stuff they would need, Ducky started one of his stories.

"This reminds me of my days in Edenborough medical college. "

"You used to take a tunnel to get to school Ducky?" Tony asked amused.

"No, the morgue was tiny. We had one of our fellow students suffer from claustrophobia terribly. Constantly hyperventilating. "As his story proceeded I noticed that Palmer doing that very thing while climbing down the ladder.

"Yes, one day he decided to overcome his fear. Heh. He shut himself in one of the morgue drawers…" Palmer's eyes got wide and he nearly froze at the thought. Taking a deep breath he kept his composure as Ducky continued with his story.

"He asked us not to disturb him for 24 hrs. We were very impressed with his gumption." Ducky continued.

"Did it work" I asked climbing down the latter after them.

"Unfortunately not, no….he died from a massive coronary." If possible Palmer's face got even paler as his eyes widened. _Well that was unexpected_ I thought to myself.

"So you see people can be frightened to death" Ducky continued oblivious to Palmer's reaction as he walked on.

"Good to know." Ducky gave a chuckle at my response. Tony came down after me and we made our way through the dark corridor. As the four of us made it into the room Tony stopped and stared at the scene with a somber expression.

"This is really sick" he commented. _Good to know Tony can take some things seriously._

"Steven King would love it". _I take it back…._ I gave him a chastising look and he just began taking the shackles off the dead woman so he could properly examine her and take her back for an autopsy. As Ducky asked for the body bag to mover her out, Palmer realized that he had left it behind.

"It's in the truck" he stated still staring at the dark hallway.

"I know" Ducky told him.

"Next time you'll remember." I smiled at his antics.

"Well played Ducky" I complimented while Palmer went off the get the forgotten bag. I walked over as Kate picked up an old magazine on the nightstand.

"The Good Wife's Guide, 10 steps to pleasing your husband." I said reading the label aloud from behind her.

"I think I read something like that in Redbook." McGee casually stated not bothering to look away from the camera. I turned around to look at him while Tony peered up at him from his position on the floor.

"Redbook?" he questioned. _Oh poor McGee. He's in for some major teasing from Tony._

"Yeah" Tim answered unfazed. Tony smirked.

"You read Redbook" he asked seemingly amused with this new knowledge. McGee still wasn't picking up on Tony making fun of him answered while looking back,

"Yeah all the time". Tony and I made eye contact with each other across the room and smirked, trying to hold in our other comments.

"Well I don't think you read this one McGee. It's from May 1955." Kate told him.

"1955?" I asked. She nodded in affirmation. Gibbs looked up at the hole in the ceiling.

"How long has she been here Duck?"

"It's hard to say Jethro, poor thing has been dead for months."

"What about years?" I asked looking over at the dead woman.

"Perhaps one, not more than two." Ducky answered looking up. Gibbs sighed still looking up through the hole.

"The house has been abandoned for 5 years." He told us.

"Well then she wasn't the last tenant" Kate replied.

"Check it anyway" Gibbs told her.

Back at the office Kate read off the info from a fax she had received.

"The last tenant in that house was Luteinant Commander Carlton Halpin. Lived with his wife and 2 children until January '99, then transferred to the San Diego Naval Station. As far as we can tell he's never been back."

"McGee?" Gibbs asked. _Oh he's doing that thing again where he asks everyone what they got._

"All the materials used in the construction of the bunker could've been purchased at any Lowes in the area." he responded. Gibbs looked towards Tony next.

"DiNozzo?"

"A lot of the furnature in the room is authentic 50's. Not good taste but what the hell?" Gibbs stared at Tony waiting for something better. I got up from my desk and made my way over directing the attention away from Tony and finishing his statement.

"It's all from various manufacturers, nothing in production today. The way I figure it is he had to have collected the pieces from antique stores and garage sales." I told Gibbs

"What about the possibility they were handed down from family?" Kate asked. Tony looked at her before turning back, gesturing for me to continue.

"I was getting to that. There was the possibility that the pieces were handed down from family members." I finished, facing Kate.

"The point is either scenario isn't really traceable." Tony commented having while having a stare down with Kate. He quickly turned back around to Gibbs' desk to add to that, but when he did Gibbs was nowhere to be seen. _Weird…_ Trying to cover up for the awkward moment, Tony kept turning to face McGee.

"Question for you Probie." Kate just rolled her eyes at DiNozzo's actions. I shook my head. Tony walked to the front of Mcgee's desk.

"Redbook? Why?" without hesitation McGee answered.

"Because it was, and still is the definitive magazine for today's young woman." I turned toward Kate. 'Really?' I mouthed to her. She nodded confirming it.

"Planning a sex change?" Tony asked still confused as to why he was reading that.

"No." Tony continued to stare at McGee for further explanations. McGee started to stutter trying to explain,

"um .. well. .. since I've always been interested in women I figured I'd read it to you know…know about them." Tony just looked at him like he had two heads.

Sighing Tony said, "McGee, the best way to know about them….. is to 'know' them." I scoffed and rolled my eyes while Kate looked at Tony with a disapproving frown while he smirked triumphantly over at McGee from his desk.

"Well you sure haven't changed much." I told him walking over to his desk. He looked up and sent me a signature smirk.

"Well neither have you. Besides it's part of my charm." I laughed.

"Sure that's what it is….."

"The victim is Carolyn Figgis. Petty officer 3rd class, 22." Kate stated handing the personel profile over to Gibbs. We were standing in front of the big screen looking at the file.

"She went missing 18 months ago." I added.

"I pulled the file boss, it was a botchy case, didn't have much." Tony continued walking up behind me.

"She left for work one morning and 'poof' gone. Dismissed and the case went cold."

"Well it just got hot again" Gibbs commented.

"Ducky estimated she's been dead about a year. That means she was in the bunker for about 6 months before she died. "McGee said looking at us from his desk.

"That rules out the last tenants" Tony deducted. Gibbs held up the picture,

"Kate tell me about her killer." Being the profiler Kate was often asked these questions, I noticed. While pacing she started listing of the facts that she could deduce about the murderer.

"The basic pathology is obvious. He was probably abused as a child, dad beating on mom, one or both beating on him." I watched as she walked around. I could do some profiling but I wasn't quite as good as she was.

"He's trying to create the perfect relationship" I added.

"That's right. He controls the name of the game." Kate finished smiling over at me approvingly.

"This one didn't live up to his expectations" Tony stated adding to the profiling. I whipped around to face him at his desk.

"Why was I sure you'd understand that part?" I asked. Tony just lifted up his hands and gave a hurt look like 'what did I do?' Bringing it back in Gibbs summarized,

"So he cut off all her supply, and left her in an airtight chamber to die, and moved on."

"Yeah that's the problem, this kind of pathology is driven." Kate told him.

"He's not gonna stop until he finds the perfect one."

"He's playing house with somebody else out there..." I said aloud, the realization finally hitting me.

 **Tony's POV:**

McGee and I were on our way to do some interviews. I was driving and McGee was bopping along with some rock music on the radio. I looked over at him with distain while he acted as if he didn't have a care in the world. This whole thing with Gibbs switching up the order was still bugging me. Why was McGee ahead of me?! Maybe he was gunning for my spot on the team. Well no way that was happening. I finally got annoyed with him and turned the music off. McGee looked over at me questioningly.

"I hate that song McGee." _I love that song._ McGee looked confused.

"I thought you bought tickets to see them next week?" he asked.

"Well I changed my mind" I sharply responded.

"I'm selling them on eBay." Ok yes, I could've come up with something more convincing but I was too irritated with him at the moment to thing straight.

"Oh" Tim simply responded still not picking up on my hostile mood.

"Well could be listen to something else?" he asked. _Will he ever get the hint that I'm ticked at him? How dense is he?_

"Sure".

I turned the station to some old style country music. I acted like this was the best music ever, while McGee kept glancing around thoroughly confused as to what was going on. Finally realizing the reason McGee looked over at me.

"This isn't about music is it?"

"This what?" I asked not taking his eyes off the road. I knew exactly what, but I was gonna make him admit it out loud.

"Whatever it is that isn't music?" Tim answered a bit unsure.

"This is your conversation McGee." I told him all cryptically. Was this a bit childish? Sure. But do I care? Nope! After a few seconds he turned back to me.

"Tony I'm not after your job".

"Ha! You think I'm actually worried about you taking my place Probie?" _Of course I was….just a little._

"No... I mean.. Of course not. "McGee said sighing.

"How could I be your Gibb's right hand guy." _Really?_

"Did Gibbs tell you that?" I asked him. I genuinely wanted to know.

"Um... uhh… n-not directly" Tim stuttered. That is never a good thing.

"Then why did you say that?" I really wanted to know what made him think I was Gibb's right hand guy. McGee was still at a loss of words. _Come on McStutter….._

"W-well... well... cause I heard him say nice things."

"What kind of things?" I shot back. Gibbs doesn't typically give compliments.

"I-I.. I don't remember." I took my eyes off the road to glare at him.

"Remember." There was no way he was gonna weasel out of this now. I just kept glancing over at him until he could come up with something.

"Um yesterday."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He said something about filing your case report." _My case report?..._

"Well what did he say exactly?" Tim paused for a moment seemingly trying to form the right words.

"He said it wasn't late for once" he blurted out. Now I'm really ticked with him. So I started to speed up and glared over at McGee. He was so dead.

 **Claire's POV:**

After Tony and McGee got back Abby told us about some new forensic information that proved to be very useful. Apparently there was some beetle shell at the scene that belonged to some species in select parts of South Georgia and Northern Florida. So that's what we are looking at on the bigscreen now.

"Our nasty little critter could've called any one of three navy bases home." Tony said pointing to the map.

"Jacksonville Naval Air Station. Mayport Naval Station in Florida. Naval Submarine Base Kingsfield Georga." He finished turning towards Gibbs. Kate looked at the screen a little uncertain.

"We have a piece of a beetle that shouldn't be here, it doesn't mean that the guy who did this is there now." she pointed out. _That's a valid point._

"Didn't say it did." Gibbs amended. Tony looked back at the file,

"Well she's right boss, I mean he could've just been there on vacation. Who knows." He stated walking back to his desk.

"Could've been" Gibbs agreed.

"He could still be here." I added to the theory.

"Accept nobody else is missing from Norfolk. Somebody IS from Jacksonville! "McGee informed us. I quickly walked over to see that he was reading over the new found information on his computer. He pulled the info up onto the big screen for all of us to see.

"She fits the profile." Kate said making her way to look at the screen with the rest of us.

"NCIS agent Jane Malincovich forwarded a missing persons reports she filed of a female Petty Officer "McGee said still reading off the computer.

"Barbra Swain, Petty Officer 2nd class at Jacksonville. She's been missing for almost 4 months." I said reading the file aloud. Gibbs look to Kate for confirmation on the profiling. She nodded her head,

"She's close in age to Figgis, similar look."

"Same MO too, she disappeared off the face of the earth and never made it to work. No witnesses, no clues, case went dead." I added and looked back towards Gibbs to see what he says. He peered at her picture one more second then turned around.

"Get us on the next flight to Jacksonville, and tell agent Malincovich we think her victim might still be alive somewhere on base."

"On it boss!" Tony hastily said. I've never seen him move that fast to do anything work related.

"Pretty thin Gibbs" Kate told him still unsure.

"It's all we got Kate".

 **3rd Person POV:**

At Jacksonville the team met up with the NCIS agents down there and began a thermal search of the base.

"The Seahawk is still searching for thermal anomalies on the ground surface." Agent Malincovich said while looking at the radar on her computer.

"They've been sweeping for a long time agent Malincovich." Tony said moving closer to the agent. Claire eyed him suspiciously. Surely he wasn't already trying to hit on her.

"At this altitude they're scanning 150 ft. swatches. It's time consuming but its accurate." she told him. Tony gazed at her in an unprofessional manner. Noticing this Claire spoke up, fed up with his antics.

"Hungry again Tony?" she asked knowing he would get the hint. She would always call him out on this stuff when they were in college so why not do it some more now.

"Actually no Claire. I…I'm just bored." he said turning to her with an innocent look, but she knew better.

"I already ate something on the plane, I'm not sure what I ate but it was filling." he continued looking back at the female agent. Claire just gave him a sarcastic smile. Agent Malincovich took a deep breath not enjoying having agent DiNozzo's eyes on her.

"You had the chicken Singapore with mushroom Sauce." McGee said totally killing the moment. Tony glowered at him.

"Something you read in the Redbook McGee?" he asked trying to embarrass him.

"Lady's Home Journal actually" he responded not missing a beat. Tony silently laughed and looked to Kate and Claire with a 'really?' look.

"The food and home section?" Malincovich asked seemingly interested. Claire snickered at Tony's face seeing that his plan was backfiring.

"Yeah that's right" McGee answered smiling at her.

"The best" she responded smiling back.

"No question" McGee answered happy he had made an impression on her. Tony looked at the two of them not liking that things weren't going his way.

"McGee right?" she asked a bit flirtatiously. McGee smiled brightly at her.

"Timothy"

"Jane." Tony, not liking the lack of attention leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Me Tony." She just clenched her teeth and let out an annoyed sigh coupled with an eye roll. Claire just face palmed at his stupidity. Was he trying to act like a caveman?

"It looks like they're picking up a thermal signature." Agent Malincovich said looking at the screen.

"It's warm, warm is good." The agents looked at the screen, got the coordinates and headed off. As they were walking out Claire gave Tony a punch on his shoulder. He winced at the sudden attack and looked at her questioningly.

"Me, Tony…Really?... That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." She told him walking ahead to the car. Tony just pouted while rubbing his arm.

A whole caravan pulled up to the house and started surrounding the building where they found the heat signatures. Gibbs and Kate covered one side of the garage while Tony, Claire, and McGee covered the other. Gibbs gave them the signal and the three agents took off to the other side of the house. Gibbs and Kate took one door while the threesome went to cover the other exits. Gibbs gave the signal and made sure Kate was ready. She gave a nod to signal that she was. Gibbs then threw the door open and held up his gun.

"Whoa don't shoot!" Inside was an officer with 100's of plants under special lighting. He was holding up his hands in surrender so he wouldn't get shot.


	3. Chapter 3

**Claire's POV:**

"Petty Officer 3rd Class Derrell Balm." Tony said walking up to Gibbs as the marijuana plants were being cleared away.

"Works in avionics" Tim added.

"Claims he was growing for his own personal use." Tony continued.

"I'm sure he did. What else was he supposed to say?" I laughed. Gibbs looked over at me and I immediately stopped. I guess it wasn't the right time for joking.

"What do you think?" Gibbs asked looking over at Tony. He took his cap off and ran his hand through his hair in thought.

"Well, there's over 200 plants boss. Gotta think he's spreading the love. And I'm pretty sure Derrell is cutting into his profit margin." he answered somewhat jokingly. Gibbs looked at him for a few seconds before he walked away. Tony and I shared a look that said 'Sheesh! What's up with him?'

"There's nothing here" Gibbs told us sounding irritated. The four of us quickly followed him over to the van.

"Doesn't seem like it. Says he started growing 3 months ago. The size of the weeds indicates that about right." Tony said following them to the car.

"And you know this because?" I asked giving him a questioning look.

"Because of my experience on the Baltimore PD Drug Task Force." Tony answered as if it were obvious.

"You were never on the Baltimore PD drug task force." Gibbs cut in. I looked over at Tony and he held up his hands in mock disbelief. I kept looking at him for an explanation on why he lied.

"…I had friends…we shared experiences." he said trying to justify himself.

"Actually Derrell does seem to be on the level boss." Tim said trying to help Tony out.

"Oh and you know this why McGee? From personal knowledge?" Gibbs was acting a little irritated. He turned to look at the McGee with a hard stare. Tim got flustered.

"Well no..no, no , no.. I just mean…you know there was occasional….incident…." he babbled. _Incident?_ He was cut off when a Sergeant informed Gibbs that the commander wanted to talk with him. Once Gibbs walked away Tony spoke up.

"Let me guess you never inhaled?" he asked standing alongside me and Kate. The three of us were in a line looking at McGee expectantly.

"I inhaled." Tim answered unconvincingly.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah..once..a little bit." Tony tried to hold back his smile. I'll admit I was too.

"How was it?" I asked him picking up where Tony left off.

"I didn't like it."

"You didn't like it?" Kate asked. We were all still staring at him. McGee didn't say anything. Tony, Kate and I turned toward each other with knowing smiles before bursting into laughter.

"He didn't inhale." We all said at the same time still laughing.

Gibbs returned after his chat with the commander. Once he reached us our conversation abruptly ended.

"What now Gibbs?" Kate asked. Gibbs just gave her a look.

"Well I guess we just give up Agent Todd." he said with much sarcasm. Ok he was definitely bothered by this case because 1- he was cross with Kate, and 2- he never calls her by her last name. Kate looked at him feeling sorry for how the whole situation was turning out and how it was wearing on him. He angrily got into the car and after a look we nervously followed without a word. Tony and I got in the backseat along with McGee and shared a very quiet ride back to the headquarters on base.

"Shot the forensic squad on our mummified bride." Abby's voice came in through the computer as we were all huddled around Agent Malincovich's desk looking at the victim on the screen. Abby was giving us the updates via video chat. Gibbs, Kate and I were standing in the back while McGee was at the computer and Tony sitting backward in a chair. He had his arms on the back of the chair, and was munching on a random jar of peanuts he had found in the desk.

"Accept for the prints, nothing in the underground chamber is really speaking to me. The carpet fiber indicates a cheap nylon fiber available anywhere." The screen changed so that they were looking at Abby on camera.

"The analysis of the accumulated dust tells me that our sicko murderer wasn't any better a housekeeper than he was a husband."

"Clothes fibers?" Gibbs asked looking through the report.

"The cotton, probably socks. And purple silk, don't know what that's about. Maybe a scarf? Or an ascot kinda thing?" she answered.

"How many guys wear ascots today?" Kate asked.

"I have." Tony answered from his chair. I barely gave Tony a glance, not surprised by this at all.

"You would." He looked at me with an offended expression. I chuckled.

"Okay thanks Abs." Gibbs said.

"Oh anything for you wonderful wizard" she joked. I smiled at how she always got away with calling Gibbs crazy stuff like that.

"By the way Tony?" she continued before signing off.

"Yeah"

"I need it back when you're done." she said with a small smile. Everyone turned to look at him. I raised my eyebrow at him and noticed he ignored me and said nothing. Agent Malincovich walked up.

"The files you requested, all the transfers from Norfolk over the last 6 months."

"Just put them over there agent Malincovich." Gibbs said gesturing to a desk behind them. She gave him a hard stare but reluctantly took them over.

"Hey we appreciate the use of your desk" Gibbs told her not looking up from the file he was reading.

"Not a problem" she answered putting her hand on her hip and looking spitefully at Tony who was still munching on the peanuts. He didn't make eye contact. I told him not to take them without asking but he never listens to my advice. I couldn't wait to see how she would respond to it. And so far it was going like it thought it would. She was not a happy camper.

"Everything all right?" she asked Gibbs, her stare at Tony unwavering. Tony kept looking away as Gibbs spoke up.

"Yeah. DiNozzo sure found the nuts without much trouble." He told her. She raised an eyebrow indicating her irritation. I wonder how he was gonna try to talk his way out of this one. I nudged Kate and nodded my head toward to two of them. The two of us watched intently. Tony held a finger up and took a few more seconds to finish chewing before he gave an explanation.

"I haven't eaten since the plane I hope you don't mind." he told her with a not so sorry look.

"I do actually.. they're for my sister." she said still glaring at him. _Oops.._ Tony slowly lowered the jar just before he took another helping to look at her.

"Oh sorry" he said still munching. He put on some puppy dog eyes to try to get her to not be so mad about the situation.

"But probably for the best….so fattening.." he trailed off.

"I'm sure you know that from all your food magazine reading" he added with a smile. _Not the approach to take Tony._

"She's anorexic" Agent Malincovich deadpanned. I tried to hold back a laugh but it ended up sounding more like a cough. Tony's face was priceless as he quickly put the lid back on the peanuts. I looked over at Kate and she was smirking at the whole ordeal, enjoying Tony's awkward moment.

"You said in your report that the last person to see petty officer Swain was her roommate?" Gibbs asked bringing us back into the case. Agent Malincovich looked over at Gibbs while responding,

"That's right Petty Officer Deborah Marshall."

"Is she still on base?"

"Mechanic in Motor T." Gibbs started to get up from his spot to head out as he gave out our orders.

"Alright Kate you're with me. DiNozzo your with Claire, and McGee.."

"McGee" Tony joined in not looking the least bit pleased.

"Help them with the transfers" Gibbs told Malincovich as he walked passed her.

"Agent Gibbs" she turned around to face him as he stopped.

"I did the initial interview with the roommate." she told him. He just looked at her blankly.

"Yeah, I know" he said walking out the door. I gave a smirk at her reaction to typical Gibbs. I looked over at Tony and he still looked bummed about staying behind. I gave him a nudge and he looked up at me.

"I'm hurt Tony. I thought you'd be at least a little more excited about spending the next few hours with me!" I told him holding my hand over my heart in mock hurt. He smiled and shook his head at me.

"I guess I can tolerate your presence for a few minutes." I gasped and lightly punched his arm. We both chuckled at each other before getting to the personnel files.

"Corporal Drew. Transferred from Norfolk 2 months ago. Left handed, and his father was a drywall subcontractor. He could've built the bunker." Agent Malicovich listed, reading the file she had in her hands. The three of us were through the recent transfer files to see if any matched their killer's profile. I would say 'four' of us but Tony wasn't being helpful at all. He had his feet up and was reading the Good Wife's Guide.

"Captain Marshall Buckner. Right handed but has a domestic disturbance charge on his record. Transferred last May." McGee was reading off his own file.

"Always respond enthusiastically to your husband's amorous advances, it's a wife's duty to make sure his physical needs are met." Tony read aloud from where he was sitting. The three of us slowly turned our heads to look at him while he was reading. _He was already being lazy and now he was reading that junk out loud?_ Tony being totally oblivious, continued on.

"You know except for the murder abduction part, I kinda think this guys onto something." Tony told McGee with a serious expression. Agent Malencovich was shocked and disgusted. I on the other hand was also disgusted but not quite as shocked that that came out of his mouth.

"I can't believe you just said that." She told him.

"I can." I mumbled under my breath. McGee looked over at me and I simply gave him a shoulder shrug.

"Why?" Tony still couldn't see what was so wrong with his statement.

"It's sexist and insensitive and what the hell does it have to do with our investigation?!" She continued ranting at him. Tony subtly let out an exasperated sigh.

"Do you know Timothy?" she suddenly asked looking over at him. Tim looked up at her and couldn't think of anything to say.

"Answer Jane, Timothy." Tony told him with a semi-amused face.

"Um….the...the real question is…do you find it pertinent?" McGee said directing the conversation back towards Tony. Without missing a beat Tony countered,

"I find it every bit as pertinent to this investigation as those files Probie." He gestured to the files on the desk with his eyes.

"It is?" I asked him confused at where this was going.

"It speaks to the suspect's state of mind." Tony told us matter of factly. He sent a wink over to Agent Malincovich.

"Look Tony with all due respect it speaks more to your..."

"With all due respect. Probie! How much time do you have in the field?" Tony cut him off getting a bit defensive. Tim sighed in resignation.

"Not a lot of course."

"Exactly, cause you're a probationary field agent." McGee gave him a hard look.

"What about me? I'm a Probationary field agent but yet I still have about the same amount of field experience as you do. Just not with this unit" I told Tony. He was not being at all fair to McGee. Tony gave me a flustered look but just ignored my statement.

"I know it can be confusing sometimes." Tony finally answered looking back at the magazine.

"I'm actually not confused." McGee told him. Tony scoffed.

"You think you're not confused….in actuality you're very confused. And that contradiction is what makes the whole situation seem…..uh…." Tony made a gesture with his hand as if he was trying to grasp at his missing thought. "more…uh…"

"Confusing?" I deadpanned.

"Exactly" Tony waved his finger at me in agreement. I gave him an eye roll and continued looking through the files.

We worked for another hour or so but still no luck. McGee tossed down another file.

"Well this one's not left handed either. But everything else fits." He me with exasperation in his voice. Tony's cell went off. However he ignored it and kept reading the Good Wife's Guide, still not doing his work. I looked over at him waiting to pick it up. When that wasn't subtle enough I not so subtly knocked his feet off of the table. He gave me an annoyed look and finally answered while putting his feet back up.

"DiNozzo."

"How's it going with those transfers?" I heard Gibbs asked on the other end. Immediately Tony's eyes widened and he shot up straight in his chair.

"Uh almost finished boss." Tony reached over and split a pile of files and gave each of us a mini stack of files.

"We've ID'd 15 that fit a substantial part of the profile." We all were shooting him incredulous looks since he just dumped all of his work onto us.

"Good put down the Good Wife's Guide and listen up." I heard Gibbs tell him. Tony immediately did just that. I giggled because Gibbs always knew everything and it always scared Tony.

"Padre thinks that Petty Officer Swain could've met this guy at a local bar. Split up, canvas the area."

"See if a bartender can make a connection to any of them?" Tony asked. After a moment he talked again.

"I'll make copies of his service photos." while saying this he gestured to me to go do that. I raised my eyebrow at him and stayed firmly planted where I was.

"Uh DiNozzo?" Gibbs continued.

"Yeah?"

"Make the copies yourself." I heard Gibbs end the call. Tony paused for a moment still a bit stunned.

"Of course." He looked at the files for a moment before quickly picking them up and taking them over to make copies of the photos. We all shook our heads at him.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

As Tony finished up printing off the files, he noticed one of the people on the page and made a connection to the case. He quickly ran over to tell his coworkers and make a call to Gibbs.

 **Claire's POV:**

"You sure about this DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked on the other end of the call. We had it on speaker phone so that we could all hear.

"All in his SRB boss, left handed transferred 6 months ago." Tony listed off looking at the computer screen beside McGee.

"From where?"

"Norfolk." Agent Malincovich answered. McGee added to that.

"Boss remember what Abby said about the clothes fibers? Chaplains sometimes where a vestment over their clothes called a stohl over their uniform. It's a band of silk cloth hung around the neck."

"Silk?" Gibbs asked.

"The colors of the stohl depend upon the returgical season it can be red or green or white.."

"Or purple!"Gibbs finished, hanging up the phone.

Gibbs sent Tony, McGee, Agent Malincovich and I over the chaplain's house so search it for clues as to where the missing Petty Officer was. It turns out that Tony was right about him being behind it all, but before Gibbs and Kate could get anything out of him he had shot himself in the head. While the three of us (I'm sure you can guess which three) were actually working, Tony had put in one of the old TV shows he found in the house.

"I'm gonna get married."

"What?.. John said he's gonna get married!" Tony was sitting in the chair watching the old show as the men talked about getting married and the bliss of married life. He chuckled at the TV.

"What are you watching?" McGee asked from behind him.

"Ozzie and Harriet. Ran for 14 years, over 35 episodes." I listed off without hesitation.

"I am actually surprised you know that." McGee stated as he continued to search the house.

"Tony practically forced me to watch it when we used to hang out back at school." I sighed, remembering having to sit through every single episode with him.

"I still have the box set at home. It's really good." He said not even denying my comment. Tony glanced over at Tim who had a stack of letters.

"Where'd you find those?"

"I found them stashed underneath the sati." Tony and I looked at him with a confused expression.

"Sati?.." I asked.

"Yeah it's a small sofa with seating for two." We turned to look at the …..Sati.

"Sold mine at a garage sale last year." McGee said with a small frown. Tony turned around and gave me a look that said 'He's mental'. I nodded in agreement but got back to searching the house.

"Are you gonna watch the whole hour or…." Tim dropped off looking at Tony.

"They were half hour movies, and what if I do?" he asked looking up at him. _Tony and his movies_ I thought with an eye roll. McGee looked at him with wide eyes.

"I guess that would mean that you're trying to understand the suspect's state of mind?" he said trying give the right answer. Tony gasped with fake excitement.

"We're gonna make a field agent out of you yet Probie." Tony continued to jot notes down in his little notebook.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Agent Malincovich turned on a light in the closet and looked around.

"DiNozzo." she called from inside. He sighed and got up to go see what she wanted. They both looked at the weird red lighting that illuminated the closet.

"I turned on the light switch and look what I got." Tony looked around. The lighting was one that you would use for developing photos in a darkroom.

"Well, it's either a darkroom or a really small bordello. What's your call?" he asked turning towards her.

"Have you always been a smartass agent DiNozzo?" she asked in a sharp tone.

"Tony." He corrected unfazed by her demeanor.

"And probably as long as you've been an over achiever….Jane." Tony pulled back the clothes to see a desk full of old camera equipment. She gave him another look of contempt.

"He might have pictures somewhere around here, to remind him."Malincovich stated.

"He might. Are you ready to find where Ozzy stashed Harriet?" he asked standing closer to her. He gave her a goofy grin and then quickly tried to act serious but failed. She just looked away from him. He quietly growled at her in an attempt to be seductive.

"Why don't you hit on somebody else for a change!...Like Agent Conners or something." She hissed at him fed up with the constant flirting. He gave her on odd look and glanced over at Claire.

"Claire?...No way that would just be weird, she's my best friend from school." He told her with a little bit of hesitation. She just rolled her eyes and walked away. He couldn't help but look back over at Claire and wonder why he didn't try to flirt with her like he did everyone else. What made him act differently around her? It was merely the fact that they were close friends…..right?

 **Claire's POV:**

We searched for what seems like ages for those missing pictures. Still haven't found them. McGee was reading one of the letters that he had found under the sofa out loud. It seemed to be an old style 'romantic' love letter.

"There must be more than 50 of these love letters." McGee stated picking up another one.

"They're all sounding like Nelson Eddie recordings." Tony said without glancing up. I agreed.

"The guy was on the air for 14 years singing lyrics like that?" Tim asked with distaste. Tony slowly turned around while I mentally face palmed.

"Different Nelson. Not Ozzie Nelson, Nelson Eddie." I told him.

"You have his collection too?" Tim asked Tony, being genuinely curious.

"His forgotten recordings" Tony answered with a wistful look on his face. Tim thought for a moment.

"You seem to have a lot in common with this…" but he stopped talking when Tony quickly turned to him with a look saying 'I dare you to finish that sentence'. Tony really looked like he was about to go off on him, but instead he lifted up his hand and had a thoughtful look on his face. McGee looked up at him trying to understand what he was thinking. Tony made his way over to an old record player. As he opened it I finally caught on to what he was thinking. I made my way over to stand behind him. Tony examined the screws on the side of the record player.

"Uh huh". He looked over at me and then lifted the place where the records are put. Underneath it was an old photo album labelled 'wedding memories'. The other two came up behind us to look at the album. Tony opened it up and inside were old style black and white photos of the chaplain and some other women he had forced into a wedding gown as his 'bride'. The chaplain looked happy and the poor girl just looked terrified. But something was off.

"Whoa, that's not Petty Officer Figgis or Swain." I pointed out while examining the photos. He turned the page.

"And neither is this one." On the third page was petty Officer Figgis.

"Gosh she looks terrified." Malincovich stated. He turned another page.

"Here's Swain." Tony said.

"Where did he hide you Petty Officer Swain?" I asked to myself. Tony glanced over at me and gave a sympathetic smile.

"I'll scan the prints and upload them to Abby." Tim said breaking the silence. Tony slowly closed the book and handed it to McGee. As he did I saw something drop out of the album.

"I wish we had the negatives" McGee stated about to walk away. Tony picked up the fallen object and held them out to Tim behind his back.

"Probie…..." McGee quickly grabbed them from Tony and went to send the stuff to Abby. As McGee was leaving Tony turned towards me.

"Remember when i told you that when I was a kid and I used to hide stuff in my record player?"

"Sure do." I laughed. Agent Malincovich gave him a pat on the back.

"Nice work….hotshot."

 **3** **rd** **person POV:**

"Some of these prints were enlarged from the negatives. I think you'll find this very interesting." Abby told the team from the video feed on the TV. She pulled up a screen showing the prints from the album.

"Now this is Petty Officer Swain's picture from the album. Now look at the full negative." The picture expanded showing much more background.

"There's much more visible in the background now around the bed and some sort of door to the left."

"Abbs can you blow that up, and lighten it?" Gibbs asked.

"oh yeah" she answered as if that was an easy question. As she did that the door came in to better view.

"It's a riveted door frame." Abby told them.

"It's an ammo bunker." Gibbs realized.

 **Claire's POV:**

The team pulled up outside some of the ammo bunker buildings. The five of us, along with other NCIS agents quickly got out to send search parties to find Petty Officer Swain. As Gibbs walked up the commander he started talking to him as they walked.

"You're right Gibbs, these ammo bunkers are the only underground units on base with riveted doors".

"How many?" Gibbs asked looking at the map.

"6 bunkers all with multiple corridors and compartments each." the commander told him. _That's so many…._

"Some have bar locks, others padlocks. It's been vacated so long I couldn't get a master key." he continued as we looked over the layouts of the bunkers. Gibbs looked up to address the commander.

"We'll need bolt cutters."

"Got 'em. Search dogs won't be here for another half hour."

"We can't wait." Gibbs told him.

"Kate, McGee, DiNozzo, take bunker 2." he told them as he was handed a pair of bolt cutters.

"Malencovich and Conners, you're with me." We all started heading towards our designated bunkers. _I hope were not too late…_

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Tony, Kate, and Tim walked through the bunker slowly with their guns raised.

"Clear." Kate told them, walking in. They continued to walk through the bunker with flashlights and guns at the ready. They split off a little bit as Tony and McGee used bolt cutters to open up different rooms.

"Clear"

"Clear" they both said and continued with the search. Tony went one way, while Kate and McGee went another to help speed up the search.

Meanwhile Gibbs, Claire and Malencovich exited the bunker they were just in, coming up with nothing.

"Bunker 1 is clear, everyone's status?" he spoke into his cellphone.

"McGee and I are almost done in 2" Kate answered.

"I got a couple more boss." Tony told Gibbs.

"Keep me posted."

"Yup." Tony said as he hung up. He opened up another door. This time when he opened it he found Petty Officer Swain sitting on her bed in a wedding dress and chained to the wall, just like the others. She jumped when he kicked open the door. DiNozzo quickly scanned the room for any intruders. He slowly walked over to her.

"Petty Officer Swain? Are you alright?" he asked quietly while kneeling in front of her. She just looked at the empty corridor and then at the agent.

"Where's Bret?" she asked.

"Well you don't have to worry about him. He's dead." he told her. She looked at him with glassy eyes.

"You're safe now. Ok?" he walked off a little to call Gibbs.

"Boss, its DiNozzo. I got her. Bunker 2, corridor C. She's alright but..."

 ** _*CRASH!*_**

 **Claire's POV:**

I was standing beside Gibbs as he had his phone on speaker so we both could hear Tony's report. After he finished telling us where she was there was a huge crash and then silence. I mentally started to panic a little bit.

"DiNozzo?"

"Tony!...Tony are you there?!"

Hearing no answer we immediately ran in to get him.

As we neared with the rest of the team I saw Tony's limp body lying in the threshold of the room. I quickly walked over with my gun still at the ready to go check on him. I checked his pulse and he was fine, just unconscious. Standing in the room was the petty officer holding a gun in her hands. Seeing the gun in her hands I called for Kate so she could talk to her seeing as I was preoccupied with checking up on Tony and getting him out of the way at the moment. Kate came over to the other side of the door.

"Is it true? Brett's dead?" Swain asked.

"Put the gun down petty officer" Gibbs said, holding his gun up. She shook her head and let out a quiet sob. Since she was seemingly unstable I noticed that Gibbs started to inch in front of me and Tony so we weren't in her sight anymore. I had his head in my lap so he didn't risk further injury and Gibbs knew that neither one of us were in a position to make a break for it if things went bad.

"We were supposed to get married." she continued her voice soft. _She's lost it._ She suddenly lifted up the gun and put it to her temple.

"I don't think I can go on without him." Gibbs motioned for Kate to go forward.

"You've done everything that Brett's asked haven't you?" Kate asked the petty officer.

"I have."

"You wouldn't want to disappoint him….would you?" Kate asked her, slowly putting away her gun. The petty officer looked at Kate as she slowly made her way towards her.

"No." she answered with the gun still to her head. Kate glanced over and saw the Good Wife's guide on the nightstand.

"Doesn't the guide say that a good wife must carry on in her husband's absence?" Kate asked her.

"Let me show you." Kate slowly reached for the guide. The petty officer turned to look at what Kate was going to show her. As she did that Gibbs quickly jumped in and jerked the gun out of her hands. The petty officer sank down and started sobbing. Kate and Gibbs were beside her trying to console her. I still had Tony's head in my lap and noticed that he started to stir. He let out a small groan and blinked his eyes a couple times beginning to focus on his surroundings. His eyes met mine and he gave me a surprised look.

"Laying down on the job again Tony?" I asked him trying to lighten the mood. He scowled at me and groaned again while I gave a little smile of amusement.

 **Back in DC:**

Tony picked up another painkiller and chewed on it while holding his head and groaning. It was late at night and we had recently flown back in after closing the case.

"How's your head?" McGee asked from his desk.

"Still throbbing. You know what bongos are?"

"Yea"

"Well a beatnik is playing them in my head." Tony told him. Kate let out a small chuckle and Tony looked over at her.

"You finally met the perfect 50's woman, and she almost kills you DiNozzo." Kate told him with an amused smile. I make my way over to Tony's desk with the icepack I grabbed for him earlier. He grabbed it and gave me a thankful smile before he turned to answer Kate's comment.

"She was so obedient." he said now holding the icepack to his head.

"Yea, it's scary how impressed you are by that." she said as she rolled her eyes.

"It's hard to believe that chaplain Evans could have so much power over her." McGee added. I looked at him from my place against Tony's desk.

"Classic Stockholm syndrome. She formed an emotional attachment to her captor. It will take her time but, she'll recover." I told him. Gibbs quickly rushed through the bullpen.

"DiNozzo, Kate, McGee, Claire. MTAC now." Tony perked up immediately after he mulled over what Gibbs just said.

"DiNozzo, Kate, McGee, Claire….." he shot up out of his seat to follow Gibbs.

"DiNozzo! Kate! McGee! Claire!" he repeated much louder as we walked with him.

"Beatnik gone?" I asked walking beside him.

"Oh yeah" he said looking over at me.

"Cool" Kate commented while snapping her fingers to a Jazz beat. _I think I'm gonna love this job._


	4. Chapter 4

[Forced Entry pt 1]

 **Claire's POV:**

We pulled up in the NCIS van outside of the house on the marine base before piling out of the front seat, minus McGee who was in the back.

"Break out the gear" Gibbs told us while putting as he put on his hat. _I still have yet to get that hat…_

"I'll coordinate with the MPs" he told us as he handed Tony his coffee and walked into the house. The fact that Gibbs gave up his coffee for anything is weird enough. Tony being Tony just looked down at the cup in his hands, probably wondering the same thing I was. Tony was bringing up the cup to his lips to see what was in it.

"If you drink that DiNozzo you're dead!" I quickly turned around to see if he was watching. _He has too have been watching._ I turned around and wonder of wonders…he didn't even stop walking! _Damn he's good._ Tony had told me about Gibbs being able to do that, but I didn't believe that he was really that good. Tony and I made our way to the back of the van where Kate was unloading the bags.

"Just my luck, one more hour and we would've been off duty," Tony sulked. _I wonder what he was so bummed about._

"Big plans today Tony?" I asked him. Tony looked up from inspecting the coffee cup, which now had the lid off. Why he was insistent on inspecting Gibb's coffee, I don't know.

"Well it is Saturday Claire… What do you think?" he told me beginning to sniff whatever was inside the coffee cup. And I do believe there was a bit of sarcasm in that comment.

"What? Date with a girl who can't spell her last name?" Kate asked him from beside me. He gave her an obnoxious mock laugh at her comment. I couldn't help but snicker at his reaction. Giving me a dirty look he put the lid back on the cup.

"First name?" I asked when he still didn't give an answer.

"No, I'm supposed to volunteer at the 8th street soup kitchen today." He told us in all seriousness. Kate and I both paused what we were doing to look at him. She scoffed, beating me to it. I know Tony and I haven't seen each other in years but I KNEW that Tony wouldn't do volunteer service without some ulterior motive.

"What? You help feed the homeless?" she asked not believing him. Quite frankly I wasn't buying it either.

"Don't be surprised." He told us.

"Sorry it's just that I never pictured you as the volunteer type." She told him handing him his bag out of the back.

"Well there's a lot about me you don't know Kate" he told her putting the strap of the backpack around one of his shoulders.

"Tony I know just about everything about you…You are definitely not the volunteer type" I added. He looked at me with a hurt expression.

"Yea well you haven't been around the last couple of years, if you recall." He pointed out.

"You're right, I'm actually impressed for once." she told him. _Key phrase….for once_. As McGee was climbing out of the back of the van Tony handed him Gibb's coffee.

"Coffee Probie… looks like you could use it." He told him.

"Oh ….thanks Tony" McGee said thankful Tony was 'being nice'. At least as far as he knew. Tony pat him on the back with a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Don't mention it" he told McGee while walking away. Kate and I looked at each other, both of us understanding that we were not going to tell him whose coffee he was holding. McGee with a happy face turned towards the two of us.

"You know I think he's starting to warm up to me." _That's what you think._ Kate and I kept a small smile on our face determined not to give anything away.

"He even invited me to a party this afternoon." Tim told us.

"Really where?" Kate asked looking up at him. _He didn't invite me, what's up with that. He knows I'm great at parties._

"A soup kitchen in DC. A bunch of playboy centerfolds are hosting a fundraiser there." He told her. Kate and I shared a look of realization. Now it all makes sense, there was an alternative motive. She smirked and put her tongue at the top of her teeth in thought. Kate headed toward the house and McGee trailed behind her taking a sip of the coffee. I let out a small smile when I saw that. Gibbs was gonna be so mad.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Inside the house Tony was taking pictures of the pool of blood and handprint on the door rug and floor. The MP was telling Gibbs what had happened as they walked through the house.

"The perp broke in, tried to rape her, she shot him. The guys in critical condition down at the base hospital. And I have a marine standing guard." he told Gibbs.

"You ID him yet sergeant?" Gibbs asked while looking at the scene.

"No sir and he's not exactly in talking shape either, sir" The sergeant told Gibbs.

"There's so much blood loss, they guys lucky to be alive." Tony told them as he collected a sample of the blood for Abby to run DNA testing.

"Where's Mrs. Rowens?" Gibbs asked the sergeant glancing around the house.

"With her neighbor next door." He told him.

"I'll need her statement." The sergeant pulled out a walky talky from his utility belt.

"This is sergeant Haggarty. Bring Mrs. Rowens home, I'll meet you out front." He told the people on the other end. Gibbs walked back over towards him.

"Where's the weapon?" he asked looking around.

"It's over here on the other side of the couch." They walked over to where the gun was laying. Tony took a few pictures of the gun and Gibbs bent down to get a better look. Gibbs turned back to the sergeant.

"You touch it?" Gibbs asked him.

"Hell no sir. I did get the serial number though." He told Gibbs while Tony handed him a bag to put the gun in.

"It's registered with the Provos Marshal under her husband's name. Major David Rowens." He told them while they bagged it up.

"He's deployed in Iraq. Been gone for over 5 months." The sergeant finished. Gibbs kept inspecting the gun. Kate, Claire, and McGee came walking in to join them.

 **Claire's POV:**

"We checked the exterior of the house, no sign of a forced entry.'" Kate told Gibbs as we walked into the house.

"They typically leave their doors unlocked." The sergeant informed us.

"They sergeant?" I asked him. I didn't quite understand who he was talking about.

"This is a military base ma'am. The women expect a certain level of security in their own homes." He elaborated to those of us in the room.

"I suspect that'll change after today." He finished. _You got that right._

"Claire. DiNozzo. Head over to base hospital. I want this dirt bag's personal effects and his prints." Gibbs told us. During this whole conversation I noticed that McGee continued to drink the coffee that Tony had given him. Once Gibbs finished giving all of us our assignments he got up to search the house again.

"Enjoying that coffee McGee?" Gibbs asked as he walked over towards him.

"Uh yea." Gibbs stopped next to McGee staring down the coffee cup. The three of us were watching the scene inconspicuously and I was trying so hard not to laugh at the look on Tim's face.

"It's not too hot?" Gibbs continued standing really close to him. Tony glanced over at the two of us trying to hide his amusement. We all shared a large smile and looked back over at the two of them as Gibbs just nodded and walked away. McGee quickly turned towards us with a semi terrified look on his face. I just looked at the floor trying to hide my growing smile. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tony glanced up at McGee. Tim finally realized what had just happened.

"It's your coffee" he said quietly to himself.

"I'm sorry boss! I'll get you another one." He shouted after Gibbs. McGee once again turned toward the three of us with an annoyed look on his face.

"Thanks" he said sarcastically. I don't know why he was so bothered, it was kinda his fault too. I mean Tony suddenly being nice to McGee?

"Yea maybe next time you should remember rule…23" Kate told him walking up next to him. I had been given the list of 'Gibbs rules' the other day and I was still trying to remember them all since I couldn't write them down.

"Is that the one about not marrying a woman who eats more than you do?" I asked her from the other side of the couch next to Tony. Tony gave me a look but before he could say anything the sergeant spoke up.

"Never mess with a marine's coffee if you wanna live Agent Conners." Tony pointed back at him in agreement.

"That's right" he whispered while tapping his finger on his temple. McGee just looked at us unamused and walked away with Kate as she patted his shoulder.

"Dead man walking!" Tony called out after them. McGee turned around briefly to glare at him. I started laughing once Tim was out of earshot. Tony looked at me and joined in. We fist bumped and then made our way out the door to head over to the hospital.

Within a few minutes we arrived at the base hospital where the intruder was being treated. Tony and I took the elevator up to the level where the guy who broke in was.

"I hate hospitals." I told him turning toward him as they walked. He looked over at me.

"Since when?" he asked. I glanced up at him, he should know why. But then I thought about and I guess it developed my hospital hate after we lost touch.

"I got a bad knife wound a few years back, had to stay in the hospital for a long time. Ever since then I've hated them." I told him. He looked like he wanted to grill me for more but we were already close to the receptionist. So I stopped him before we got into it. Being Tony he understood that if I don't wanna talk about it then it's best not to bring it up. Another thing I had missed, Tony actually respected my space.

"Maybe well get lucky and he's already dead." He told me after a moment. I shoved him a little right at we walked up to the female doctor at the desk.

"Hi I'm Agent Conners…"

"Tony Dinozzo…" Tony quickly cut me off showing the doctor a charming smile. I simply looked at him while he continued. Sometimes it was just better to let Tony's raging hormones run its course.

"This is Special Agent Conners. I'd love to ask you a few questions…say over lunch?" he asked the doctor. I gave him a disgusted side glance but said nothing.

"Um Kim, and this is my engagement ring agent DiNozzo. I brought my own lunch. How may I help you?" the doctor told him off with a stern tone and turned to face me when she finished her question. _OOOhhhh burnnnnn! I like this girl._ I beamed at her while Tony looked a bit uncomfortable now. I kept a huge smile and looked to Tony indicating him to answer. He gave me a fake smile back and turned to begin the questioning.

"Um what can you tell us about the gunshot victim they brought in last night?" he asked.

"I already told the MPs everything I know." Kim said turning back to her work.

"Were not the MPs" I quickly countered, getting her attention.

"What kind of shape is he in?" I continued. The doctor looked back at a monitor on the wall.

"Stable for the moment." She responded.

"Well need to talk to him." I told her.

"Well, you'll have to come back tomorrow he's in ICU."

"Well, he might be dead tomorrow and we need answers now lieutenant." I fired back. The woman stood up.

"He's not conscious, and he won't be until tomorrow agent Conners" She told me with a lot of unnecessary attitude. I _take it back, I don't like this girl. In fact she was quickly getting on my nerves trying to prevent me from doing my job._ And I was starting to lose my cool with her. The two of us kept trying to stare down the other, and I sure as hell wasn't going to break first.

"What about his personal effects?" Tony asked diffusing the situation. He gave me a soft look telling me to calm down.

"Right here." She told us walking over to get them. I kept looking at her with contempt and Tony stared at my face then gave me a slight eye roll when I turned towards him innocently. The doctor returned with a bag of the victim's stuff.

"We had to cut off most of his clothing." She told us handing them the bag, not making eye contact with me.

"We also need prints before we go." I told her. I wanted to be rid of her as soon as possible.

"That will also have to wait until..."

"Tomorrow." I finished for her. I was now officially pissed.

"Alright look lieutenant this man tried to rape someone so..." Tony quickly put his hand on my shoulders and turned me to look at him, effectively cutting my off from my rant. _Come on I was just about to let her have it._

"We'll come back Claire." He said turning towards me fully.

"Agent Conners make sure the MP guard doesn't screw up the DD9326 form like he did last time." He told me. I just looked at him for a moment with a blank look on my face. _What the heck is he talking about?!_ After a second I caught on to his scheme to get me in that hospital room.

"If he does it's your ass. Are we clear?" he asked me sternly. I straightened up playing along.

"Are we clear" he asked me again.

"Crystal"

"Crystal what?" I tilted my head in annoyance. Now he's pushing it, and was loving every minute of it.

"Sir..."

"Perfect now move it we don't have all day." The whole time the doctor was watching us with a look of satisfaction. She was enjoying this all too much.

"The MP is outside room 107" she told me with a sickly sweet smile. I gave Tony another annoyed look before I walked away. He gave me a wink and a triumphant smile right before I fully turned around. _Jackass…_. As I was walking back down the hall I heard Tony talking to the lieutenant.

"So what was that you were saying before about NOT being married?" he asked her.

"Almost married…not quite married…thinking about it… on a fence…" he continued and I couldn't help but smile. He was a persistent one.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The victim was still lying unconscious in the bed with the oxygen tubes and heart monitors on him. As he slept Claire was inking his fingers and getting his fingerprints. Once she was done with that she took pictures of his face. As she was putting her stuff away his hand suddenly latched onto her wrist tightly. She let out a quiet shriek as she saw him sit up and gasp for air trying to talk to her. Her eyes grew wide as she didn't know what was happening, he was supposed to be unconscious and yet here he was awake with a death grip on her wrist.

"It …..It was a game." He barely rasped out.

"Laura invited me over." He told her.

"I thought she loved me…." He quietly said before he passed out again. Claire stared at him as she processed what he had just said. What was really going on here?

 **Tony's POV:**

"According to our rapist, he was invited over by Laura Rowens." Claire told all of us as we were standing around the big screen looking at the rapist's pictures.

"Oh!" I exclaimed clapping. I stood up and ran my hands through my hair. _She couldn't possibly be buying this._ As we left the hospital she told me what had happened and I was ready to jump this guy, he could have seriously hurt her. Now I was blaming myself for leaving her alone in a room with a rapist! She assured me everything was fine and it wasn't anything to be upset about but I couldn't really accept that. And now she was taking the rapist's side?!

"What was that tip that I picked up in Baltimore?..." I sighed walking to stand in front of her.

"Right on the..." I dropped off pointing to the tip of my tongue.

"Oh yea…rapists are liars Claire!" She gave me an irritated look at my outburst.

"We'll I don't think we should rule out anything Tony." McGee told me taking Claire's side.

"Oh really do ya now Probie?" I asked lacing my voice with sarcasm as walked towards McGee. I was trying to get my point through to Claire and he was messing it up with his logical thinking.

"Well, all we have Mrs. Rowens' word for what happened last night." He continued.

"So you wanna drag her in here and accuse her of attempted murder McGee?" I asked sharply, facing him. All I could think of was Claire getting hurt and no way would I ever put her through that if something like this had happened to her! _Wait why am I thinking like this…._

"No I didn't say that." Tim replied with a huff.

"Well, no let's do it. We all know she's been through enough crap already." I continued starting to get kinda mad.

"Well you would know because you're the master at giving it." Tim fired back. _Was he insinuating something?_

"Watch your lip Probie! You know your quivering lip." Tony shot back at him. Before either one of us could get another word in Kate stepped in between the two of us.

"HEY!" we quickly quieted down still looking at each other.

"My god I swear the two of you are worse than my brothers, and they're practically psychotic!"

"We have to ID this guy. If we figure out who he is and we find a connection between the two of them, then we bring Laura Rowens in for questioning." Claire cut in breaking up the awkward tension.

"Agreed?" she asked looking mostly at me.

"His name's Jeremy Davison" Gibbs said standing at the edge of our section while a file and coffee in his hand. We all turned to look at him and his sudden arrival.

"Sergeant Haggarty found his car parked right outside the rear gate. Wallet keys and ID all inside. Run his phone records and see if he was in communication with Mrs. Rowens." He told us. I didn't have a pen so I reached over and grabbed a pen from McGee's suit coat pocket.

"I am on it." I told Gibbs writing labels on the evidence bags with my stolen pen.

"McGee?"

"Yea boss?" McGee responded. After I was done with it I stuck the pen back into his pocket before walking off to deliver the evidence. As I walked over I made eye contact with Claire. I mouthed a 'sorry' to her. I was a bit out of line once my emotions took over. She gave me a small smile and I knew I was forgiven for my outburst. The world was back in order.

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs had recruited me to join him down to Abby's lab so I could finally meet her in person as I haven't had a chance to yet. Computer contact only wasn't really cutting it. She's possible the coolest person I've ever met! After a couple of moments of introduction and informing her I would help her down in the lab on occasion, because of my forensic and computer background, we got back to the case at hand.

"Jeremy Davison has no criminal record Gibbs. He's a civilian, not ties to the military, his prints don't match any open cases files…..the boy doesn't even have a speeding ticket. I mean were talking cleaner than clean, whiter than white. If you put him up in a lineup against snow, snow is going to jail." Abby told Gibbs looking back to her computers. _That's one way to put it…_.

"Or it just means he was never caught." Gibbs stated from behind her, coffee in hand.

"Or it just means he was never caught." She reiterated in agreement.

"I want you to run DNA analysis on his blood, cross reference it with every database you can think of." He told her still standing behind her as she worked. _That will take forever!_ But before I could tell him that Abby beat me to it, more or less.

"Well considering there's no easy way to go through a DNA compository that could take months and months and months…."

"Uh huh well then you better get started." He told her with a soft tone. Abby turned around to face him.

"You think he did it?" she asked.

"It depends on your definition of 'it'" he told her leaving a kiss on her forehead.

"Spoken like a true politician Gibbs!" she told him as we were walking out.

Gibbs and I walked back up to the bullpen. When I walked by I noticed Tony was stuffing his face with a sandwich he had brought. As Gibbs and I walked over to our desks Tony decided to fill Gibbs in on their progress.

"Still searching through his phone records boss, nothing so far to or from Quantico." Tony told him.

"Home and office?" Gibbs asked looking at his computer.

"And cell" Tony added confirming the statement. McGee got up from his desk to hand Gibbs a piece of information.

"Boss I got a warrant to his apartment, it's in Alexandria." McGee told him handing him the note with the address.

"Keys." Gibbs said to Tony without looking up. Tony tossed them over from his desk, and Gibbs snagged them out of the air.

"I'll get the Sedan" Tony told him getting up to run and grab the keys for it.

"No you stay with the phone records." Gibbs told him. Tony silently raised his hands in exasperation, sending me a questioning look. As if I could control Gibb's thoughts. I gave him a shrug in reply.

"McGee, I want everything on Davison by the time I get back." Gibbs said getting up to head out.

"Kate, Claire common you're with me." He told us walking away. Tony had a dejected look on his face as we walked away. Kate quickly got her gun and stashed it and followed Gibbs while tony stood there looking like a kicked puppy. I walked backwards facing him mouthing 'sorry' before turning back around and getting in the elevator.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Gibbs, Kate, and Claire all came in through the door with their guns up. They made sure the apartment was clear before they began investigating. The apartment was a pretty good size but was very messy. There was a bed in the center of the room, with a couch and table off the side in the main room. The agents put their guns away and put on their gloves to begin their search.

 **Claire's POV:**

"You know this is sorta how I always pictured Tony's place." Kate told us looking around.

"Except DiNozzo has better furniture." I told her. She looked over at me, her eyebrows raised.

"Kate, I went over to his house to watch an old movie marathon the other week. Remember?" She had a look of realization as she recalled me telling her about that. I rolled my eyes playfully at her.

"Alright let's find out who this guy really is." Gibbs told us. We started searching through his things. I was looking at the bookshelf while Kate walked over to the coffee table and opened the laptop.

"You might wanna come take a look at this Gibbs." She told him from where she was at. We both walked over to look at what she was showing us. The screensaver was a picture of Mrs. Rowens in a playboy magazine type pose, while in lingerie. _Whelp…that is saying something…._

"She had to have sent him that." Kate stated nodding at Gibbs and sitting down to further investigate the laptop. _No dip Sherlock!_

"Yea? How'd you figure that?" Gibbs asked looking around at the other stuff.

"Well I …let's just say, theoretically I had a picture like this." She started with a small laugh. I whipped around to look at her as Gibbs stood up raising his eyebrows at her in curiosity. The nervously cleared her throat.

"Well Iet's just say I wouldn't be handling them out on a street corner." She finished. I walked over next to her and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"We are SO talking about this later." I told her with a smirk, while she just smacked me.

"Yea well, since were being theoretical, what ….let's say…. happens when the guy works at a photo shop?" he asked going back to his search. She looked over at him, then turned back to some printed out emails that were on the table too. She started reading through them.

"Here's and email, form Laura Rowens to Jeremy Davison." She said reading the heading.

"The thought of us possible meeting Niceguy is both exhilarating and terrifying. On one hand I can imagine you throwing me down and …." Kate stopped reading it out loud as the email continued.

"Whoa!" Gibbs and I glanced over at her.

"Whoa what?" She cleared her throat nervously again.

"Whoa, it's uh….its ….pretty specific." She said trying not to come right out and say what it was. _Really?_ I walked over beside her and started reading the email to myself.

"But um…by specific…..I mean …uh….explicit" she said liking the new word better. As I continued down the email I felt my eyes grow wide at how descriptive she was. _I'm gonna need a cold shower after this._ Gibbs came over and sat beside her on the couch to look at them. Gibbs looked at her for explanation.

"In the truest, most pornographic sense of the word." She tried again looking at him to see if he understood. Gibbs gave her an amused smile and she just handed him the email. He took it and held it at arms-length trying to read it. He readjusted and did again trying to get the words to focus. After a couple tried he finally got it focused enough to read. Kate looked at him expectantly to see what he would say.

"Yea….I'd say that's uh….that's specific Kate. Bag it." He told her handing it back. _Tony is gonna love this_.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Suddenly they heard the sound of someone opening the door. The agents quickly hid around the corner and pulled out their gun waiting for whoever it was to come in.

"Jeremy?" a woman's voice called out. She stepped into the living room and Gibbs threw out a hand in front of her.

"Not here." He quickly told her. She let out a loud gasp and jumped in surprise.

"Who the hell are you?!" the blonde woman asked them.

"Special Agents Gibbs, Conners and Todd. NCIS." He told her showing her his badge, while Kate patted her down.

"NI what?" the woman asked.

"Federal agents executing a search warrant. Who are you?" Claire asked.

"Michelle. Michelle Davison, Jeremy's sister. Is he ok?" she asked them. Kate looked at Gibbs.

"Your brother was shot last night breaking into a home on a marine base." Gibbs told her.

"He's' in critical condition." Claire added

"Oh my god." She let out an aggravated huff.

"I… I knew it. I knew something like this was gonna happen." She said walking into the room clearly upset.

"Something like what?" Kate asked her.

"He went on a date last night with some girl he met on the internet." She told them spitefully. The three agents gave each other a look. Maybe Laura Rowens was a part of this.

 **Claire's POV:**

After we took care of Jeremy's sister we all went back to pack up the emails and his laptop for Abby to analyze. Since there was so much of it Gibbs told me that I would be assisting her and McGee.

"Ooh is it my birthday?" Abby asked seeing us walk into her lab with boxes of evidence.

"Yea, you see a bow on top?" Gibbs told her jokingly.

"We think Laura Rowens was having an online affair with Jeremy Davison." Kate told her setting the box down. Abby had on a disgusted look.

"Really?... I coulda told her." She stated in mock disappointment.

"Internet romances never work out." She told Kate pointing her pen. Tony peered in closer to Abby.

"Do they all end in attempted murder Abby?" he asked. As she looked up from her work he looked up with her.

"Only the really hot ones Tony." I told him with a smirk. With wide eyes Tony jerked his head over towards me but before he could ask me about it Gibbs came back over.

"I want proof its true before I drag Mrs. Rowens in here." He told Abby looking at the evidence on the table.

"Is this Davison's computer?" Abby asked.

"Yup" I told her.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

While they were talking about the computer Tony picked up one of the emails and started reading. His jaw dropped and eyes widened at its content.

"Unless you want this to be inconclusive, I'm gonna need the lady's." Abby told Gibbs.

"McGee is on his way with it." He told her walking out.

"Then were in business." She said turning to Claire with an excited look.

"WOW!" Tony exclaimed still reading the emails. The three women turned towards him just now realizing what he was reading.

"Laura Rowens wrote these?..." he asked still staring at the paper.

"Allegedly" Kate told him a little miffed at his fascination with them.

"Ok Abby of course I'll need copies of all of them." Tony told her still looking at the paper. She and Claire smiled at his behavior while Kate ripped the paper out of his hands. He jerked his head over towards her.

"What?" he asked while she shook her head. Tony immediately picked up another email to read. As he walked away with it McGee came down to the lab.

"Hey McGee. You ready to plunge into the seedy side of the internet with me?" Abby asked him as he set Mrs. Rowens' computer down. McGee looked at her and around at the others in confusion.

"Well….I thought…we agreed not to discuss that at work." McGee told her. Kate and Claire gave him an incredulous look.

"McGee, I'm talking about the case." Abby told him chuckling.

"Right, of course." He said closing his eyes in embarrassment.

"Ok we'll leave you alone, but Gibbs won't. So I guess you better get started." Kate told them putting away the files. She looked around and saw Tony still engrossed in the other email.

"DiNozzo!" she said exasperated.

"I'm investigating here. These letters relate to the suspect's state of mind." He said not looking up. Kate walked over and took the paper away from him.

"I've read them, and they're all pretty much the same." She told him with a hint of enjoyment at the end of the sentence. Tony still stood there with his hands in the same position as he looked up at her while she put the paper away.

"We'll I've only read two, and if you think they're all the same then we definitely need to talk Kate" he told her with a serious tone.

"Well 12 years of catholic school says that ain't ever gonna happen." She said with a smirk. Tony reluctantly started to follow her out. On his way he passed by Claire and grabbed her bicep. She looked up at him in question.

"Hey you think you can send me some copies of this? For investigational purposes of course." He asked her with a wink. She smiled at him knowing he would ask that.

"Check your email when you get home." She whispered in his ear with a smirk. She knew him so well, so she had discretely sent him copies of some of the emails when no one was looking. His eyes opened wide with excitement and without thinking he quickly grabbed her face and kissed her forehead.

"I love you!" he told her running out to chase after Kate. Her eyes widened and even though she knew he wasn't serious she couldn't help but let a small smile slip out. Those words alone made her heart race a little, along with the intimate contact. She quickly shook her head of those thoughts and joined back with Abby and McGee on the evidence.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Up in the bullpen Tony was at his desk messily trying to eat his Chinese food with chopsticks.

"Come on..." he quietly grumbled to himself, struggling to get his noodles out of the takeout box. They were all at Kate's desk eating Chinese while working on the case. Once he got it out it slipped again and Kate made a surprised squeak as he juice flew everywhere.

"So let's say Laura did invite Davidson back to her house." Kate began handing Tony a fork form her desk. He took it with a 'thank you'.

"What would she gain from shooting him?" she asked.

"Maybe he blackmailed her?" Tony said putting his food back on her Desk after looking at it with disgust.

"DiNozzo, Laura put two bullets in him. She could've finished him off. But instead she dialed 911." Gibbs told him munching on his food.

"Maybe she got cold feet?" Kate put in.

"Or Davidson wanted to surprise her, make fantasy a reality." Gibbs said.

"Well if they only communicated online there is a possibility that she didn't even know what he looked like." Kate pointed out.

"So you're saying it could've been an accident?" Tony asked her.

"I don't believe in accidents" Gibbs told them with his mouth full.

"Or Davidson could be your…garden variety psycho. He latched onto Laura and didn't wanna let go." Kate said going back to her food.

"We're missing something here." Gibbs told them. Just as he finished McGee came walking up to them with answers followed by Claire and Abby.

"And I think I found them." He said walking over to them.

"Laura Rowens and Jeremy Davidson were definitely in contact." Abby told them.

"We've traced their emails back to the day they met online." Claire told them while Abby pulled up a website on the big screen.

"They met a few months ago on a little website called the Scarlet Secret." Abby finished for her. The website had a racy picture on the cover page and was definitely a sketchy type website.

"This is their homepage." Abby told them. Tony slowly stood up looking at the page with intense eyes.

"Huh….I gotta get one of these." Tony said shaking his head in disbelief. Kate looked over at him again with a judgmental look.

"DiNozzo..."

"I'm talking about the plasma screen Kate." He quickly told her not even looking back, as it was an obvious lie.

"What is this?" Gibbs asked Abby.

"Well you know Webster? Where people put up profiles to make friends online?" she stared.

"And their friends meet their friends and so on and so forth." McGee finished. Gibbs gave them a confused look while the four of them just looked at each other.

"Um ok…you know what friends are right?" Abby asked Gibbs with a small smile. Gibbs just gave her a look.

"Well it's kinda like that but explicitly for sex. You can email preferences, fetishes. And you follow the chain of pages and it should lead to somewhat anonymous cybersex or a face to face meeting if you want." Abby told them as she pulled up a profile on the site. The picture was of Claire.

"You're a member?!" Tony quickly asked her seeing the profile. Tony couldn't believe that she would ever be into something like that. Plus he didn't like the fact of her putting herself out there like that, but he convinced himself he was only this protective of her because they were close friends.

"No!…no I just created the page for an undercover mission forever ago. We just pulled it up to look on the site" Claire told him. Tony quietly let out a relieved sigh.

"I did a little trial and error with Laura Rowens' screen name – Homealone325- and Jeremy Davison's –Niceguy653. Care to guess which fetish they have in common Kate?" Abby turned to them in anticipation. Kate quickly shook her head.

"No, no. I'm going to hell just listening to all of this." She told Abby jokingly. Abby turned to the screen and pushed the remote.

"Rape fantasies." She told them. The agents, other than the three techies, looked at each other in shock. This was looking becoming much more complicated than they had thought.


	5. Chapter 5

[Forced entry 2]

 **Claire's POV:**

We brought Laura Rowens in for interrogation and watched from the observation room as she sat in interrogation nervously fidgeting in her seat..

"What kind of a woman is into rape fantasies?" Kate asked walking toward the middle of the glass.

"Well it's not that uncommon Kate." McGee chimed in from behind us. We quickly spun around to look at him. _Since when?!_

"Actually it's sick and disturbing McGee." I told him pointedly.

"I once dated a girl that used to wear my police uniform and make me call her Detective Sipowitts." Tony stated looking at Mrs. Rowens from the corner of the glass. That was the most random thing he could've said just now. Plus I did NOT need to know that.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked him shaking my head.

"Hey it wasn't my idea…well the police uniform part was but…" he told trailing off. _Cause that's supposed to make it better…._

"How long is Gibbs gonna make her sit there?" McGee asked us. All of us turned back to the glass, looking at Mrs. Rowens.

"It's called brewing Probie." Tony told him from his spot leaning against the wall.

"She's scared, nervous, imagining the worst." I added to his comment. Mrs. Rowens was still nervously fidgeting while sitting in the chair in interrogation. I still wasn't completely sure it was her that planned all of this, it didn't fit right.

"You gotta give her time to percolate." Tony finished with a smug look and his mouth hanging open for dramatic effect. I rolled my eyes but smiled fondly at his childish behavior. Just as he finished Gibbs quickly walked into interrogation.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Gibbs sat down across from her putting a blue folder in front of him on the desk.

"What's going on agent Gibbs? I thought I wasn't in any trouble?" Mrs. Rowens asked spinning her wedding band nervously.

"What makes you think you're in trouble?" Gibbs asked her.

"I'm in an interrogation room." She told him with a hint of humor in her voice. She paused a moment.

"Did the man die?" she asked him nervously.

"You mean Jeremy Davison?" Gibbs asked her looking down at the files.

"Is that his name?" she asked not looking up at Gibbs.

"One of them." She looked up in confusion.

"He's still alive" Gibbs told her. She didn't say anything.

"Though you might know him better as Niceguy 653." He told her when she didn't respond. She stared at him curiously.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She told him.

"No?" he responded in disbelief. Gibbs pulled out a copy of the picture of her that was on Jeremy's laptop. He held it up so she could see it. Laura slowly reached out and held it, her hands trembling as she did.

"Where did you get that?" she asked not looking up from the photo.

"Off of Jeremy Davison's computer." He told her. She looked back up at him with confusion.

"I…I don't understand, how?" she asked him.

"You sent it to him." Gibbs told her in a soft voice. She shook her head rapidly in denial.

"No…I sent this to my husband in Iraq." She insisted. Gibbs cocked his head to the side.

"I told you I never saw this man before in my life, how could I have sent this to him?" she told him raising her voice just a little in frustration. Gibbs changed the subject.

"You spend a lot of time on the internet Mrs. Rowens." Gibbs said handing her a copy of one of the emails. She looked down at it.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked brushing her hair back.

"Just an observation not a question." He told her. Gibbs handed out more copies of the different emails that were sent from her computer.

"Oh my god…" she gasped out as she scanned the document.

"You think I wrote this?" she asked him. Gibbs just kept a steady gaze on her.

"Tell me about the Scarlett Secret website." He told her. She looked back up at him. She struggled to find the words to answer, so Gibbs continued.

"Where discriminating adults go to play. Ring any bells?" he asked her sternly. She looked a little teary looking back up at him. She looked back down and shook her head.

"It's not like that…." but Gibbs quickly drilled her again.

"You and Jeremy decided to have a little cyber fling. One of you decided to take it to the next level. I wanna know which one." He told her.

"I never cheated on my husband. I wouldn't." she held back more tears.

"It was just supposed to be a game." she told him still looking at the table.

"Does this feel like a game Mrs. Rowens?" Gibbs asked getting more aggressive.

"um… I…I um…." She closed her eyes to collect herself before continuing.

"I fooled around a couple times online but I swear I never gave anyone my name or my picture. I was harmless, it was just a fantasy!" she told him.

 **Claire's POV:**

Abby quickly burst into the observation room where we were watching the interrogation. We all whipped around as she rushed in.

"I have to talk to Gibbs." She told us matter of factly.

"Well you're gonna have to wait….because the last time I interrupted an interrogation was the last time….."McGee started to tell her but she quickly cut him off.

"No McGee it's an emergency. We screwed up big time!" she told them. We all looked at each other. _I wonder what the problem was?_

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back in interrogation Gibbs kept questioning Mrs. Rowens. Kate's voice came on the intercom in the interrogation room.

"Uh ….agent Gibbs? We need a word with you." She told him. He gathered up his stuff and left the room in a foul mood. Gibbs walked into the observation room practically fuming.

"What?" he asked in a deadly calm voice looking at Kate.

"Abby has something to tell you" she said. Gibbs looked to Abby.

"I was digging deeper into Laura Rowen's clusters, mostly the slack space. And the log file alignment was off, not much but enough. So I imaged the sectors and found trace elements of…"

"English" Gibbs told her cutting her off.

"She's telling the truth Gibbs" Abby sighed.

"She didn't write those emails". The agents looked at each other questioningly.

"Who did?" Gibbs asked her.

"I don't know…Sorry."

 **Claire's POV:**

In Abby's lab we were all waiting for her to come to a conclusion. She had called us down to her lab to figure out who was really behind the emails.

"No dice Gibbs." She told said turning to face him.

"There's no back trace on Laura Rowen's machine." She finished.

"But we can tell when he created the email trial. The files on her computer showed that it happened right around the time that she shot Jeremy Davison." McGee filled in. Tony, Kate and I were up front where the big screen was, while Gibbs, McGee and Abby were behind the computer.

"Like I said this guy is good." She told Gibbs who was pacing behind them.

"This guy's a dirt bag Abby. I want him." He said not stopping.

"Well we can't find it from here, we need access to the Scarlett Secret webservers." I told Gibbs.

"And it would take months. They have a rep for any attempt to breach the privacy of their members" Abby continued nodding in agreement with my comment.

"Can't we hack them?" Tony asked turning towards me.

"It won't work Tony, we need core level access with full admin privileges to track this guy." I told him with a frown.

"Which means we'd have to be on the inside to do it." McGee added. _We are so screwed._

"Find another way." Gibbs told us not looking up from his pacing.

"Abby can you pull up the homepage for the Scarlett Secret?" Kate asked her. Abby playfully raised her eyebrows.

"Really?" she asked suggestively.

"I thought I saw something that we could use." Kate told her with a mock stern tone. Abby acted like she didn't believe her.

"Sure ya did." I mumbled under my breath. Kate heard it and gave me a dirty look. She pulled up the website onto the big screen in her lab. We all turned to look at it.

"Okay at the bottom here can you click on employment opportunities?" Kate asked Abby. She clicked on it and we read over the different jobs needed.

"Can we get a job there?" McGee asked catching on.

"Abby click computer programming." I told her. The image was a domanatrix with a computer for a head.

"We're looking for a computer programmer, with experience in network protocols, IBFs, firewalls, and high speed net capabilities. Communication skills, a good attitude, and a desire to push themselves is required. Bachelor's degree is preferred. Must be able to start immediately. " McGee read off, smiling as he continued.

"Way to go Kate." Abby told her.

"Oh finally I get to do some undercover work." McGee said. Tony immediately shot it down.

"Yea that's not gonna work. Uh Probie has got cop written all over his face." Tony said following Gibbs around the lab table. McGee had a hurt look on his face. _He has a point…._

"I on the other hand…." Tony left off the end of his sentence and instead pointed to himself triumphantly with a winning smile.

"He does have experience with cybersex." Kate pointed out to Gibbs smugly.

"Yeah…that true DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked turning to face Tony. He paused a minute trying to figure out how to answer. _I can't wait to hear this!_

"What I think Kate was trying to say was that I met a very nice girl online once." He stammered. Catching the lie I immediately asked another question to trip him up.

"Yea? What was her name?" I prodded. Everyone looked at Tony expectantly.

"Names aren't that important." Tony dismissed. Gibbs kept the stare on him. He looked around Gibbs to me with a 'you're so dead' look. I just smiled.

"HotJuggs24, but I think she meant it as a metaphor….." Tony quickly answered. _HA!_ _Metaphor my foot!_ Gibbs just gave him a look.

"Tony can't pass as a computer programmer" McGee told Gibbs.

"So McGee goes." Kate said pointing her thumb over at McGee.

"No…..not McGee." Gibbs said. He looked over at me. _Oh joy…_

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Claire had just finished getting dressed for her undercover job at the Scarlett Secret. Tony looked up as she came through the bullpen. His eyes widened at her attire and how good she looked in it. The tight red cut-of tank that showed off her toned stomach and cleavage, paired with the tight leather skirt did wonders for his heart rate. That familiar funny feeling came up in his chest, but it was quickly shoved aside at the thought that other men were going to see her like that too. If he was mentally drooling then he can only imagine what would be running through any breathing male's head.

"What are you doing?" He asked her from across the room. She looked over at him curiously.

"Um going to work for Scarlet Secret….remember? I do have to look the part Tony." She told him grabbing the rest of her things to take with her. Tony stood up and walked over to her desk before she left. Kate and McGee were just sitting there watching the encounter.

"Um no, not dressed like that you aren't." he told her standing next to her. She looked back up at him, not understanding why he would be freaking out like this. He's seen her in bathing suits and it never bothered him before.

"Tony what's wrong with you? I am going…..like this…it'll be ok." She told him walking by toward the elevators. He walked a couple steps behind, watching her make her way out.

"Well then don't be out too late!" he called after her. She turned around to walk backwards.

"Ok Dad!" jeered with a smile. He watched her leave still miffed at this whole situation. She shouldn't be going into a place like that looking the way she did. He was afraid some guy was going to hit on her. He stopped at that thought and shook it away. Why was he acting so protective over her all of a sudden? He made his way up to MTAC to watch the operation from a hidden camera with Gibbs. Kate and McGee just paused and looked at each other in confusion from his sudden possessive behavior. He had never shot down any woman who wanted to show off. It was one thing for him to be protective of his partners, but with her he was acting more like a jealous boyfriend. What was so different about Claire?...

 **Claire's POV:**

The Scarlett Secret website building was filled with cubicles of women talking on the phone with customers. There was dim lighting and racy posters everywhere, along with some suggestive music playing around the office. All of the women were varying in age, and were doing phone sex? I also noticed a couple lingerie models walking around going to their different photo shoot for the website.

"Well you're certainly qualified and we think that you'll fit right in around here. So what do you think Miss Gibbs?" the manager asked me. We had come up with that as my cover name before I left. I found it quite comical. The team was watching back in MTAC through the camera lens on my fake glasses.

"I'd say when can I start Mr. Kanen?" I answered.

"Call me Devin" he told me leaning in. He was cute….but not my type.

"Right….Devin." As we walked through the building I noticed an old lady in the cubicle next to us speaking on one of her phones.

"What am I wearing? How do you like fishnets baby?" she asked on the phone glancing over at me. I gave her a polite smile, even though I found that totally gross. Devin chuckled.

"You can start today." He said brining my attention back and led me over to my new desk.

"I have a question for you though." he said as we walked.

"Have you ever thought about modeling yourself?" he asked me stopping at the cubicle.

"Oh…I prefer the computer programming side of the business." I quickly answered. He was starting to weird me out.

"Ok well if you change your mind, we do offer naked tech support to very select clients. And a….it pays double." He continued. _What?!..._ It took me a minute to collect my thoughts. He was officially creepy now.

"That's….um…very thoughtful…but um….I'll pass." Devin then snapped out of his seductive mood. _Bipolar much?_

"Ok well, great. Um here's your work station, and I think that's it." He told me as I sat down.

"Welcome to Scarlett Secret." He told me leaning down towards. And the mood is back again. _This guy is messed up._

"Good work Claire" I heard Gibbs tell me through my earpiece. I placed the glasses with the camera on top of the computer in front of me and started working on finding that code.

 **3** **rd** **Person's POV:**

At the hospital. Tony and Kate were interrogating Jeremy Davison, who was still in ICU.

"So…so if it wasn't Laura that I was talking to….then who was it?" he asked them.

"That's what we're trying to find out Mr. Davison." Kate told him.

"No…I don't…don't believe it." he shook his head in denial.

Tony was pacing back and forth at the foot of his bed, while Kate stood to the side of it. Tony was still bothered by that one guy who kept hitting on Claire. He had no right to be leering at her and offering jobs like that.

"We…we talked about everything…it wasn't just about sex. She ….she loved me. It …it can't be." He told the agents adamantly. Tony stopped his pacing.

"At this point we aren't even sure it she….is a she." Tony told him. Kate gave him a small glare and shook her head.

"We exchanged hundreds of emails. Why would someone do that?" Mr. Davison asked them.

"You tell us." Kate told him kindly.

"Anyone holding a grudge against you Mr. Davison?" Tony asked.

"Someone who might know their way around a computer?" Kate elaborated.

"No….I don't socialize much offline. And I st…stutter when I'm nervous." He told them.

"What about online?" Kate continued.

"I said no! Maybe..…maybe she didn't recognize me. It…it was just a mistake. Maybe if I talked to her." Jeremey stuttered.

"She's never even heard of you Jeremy." Tony told him sternly.

"Whoever you were talking to, it wasn't Laura Rowens." He told him, getting the message across. Jeremy started to tear up.

"So none of it was real?" he asked them getting choked up.

"The whole thing was just some..ss…sick joke?" he kept asking through the tears. The door opened and his sister, Michelle came in.

"Jeremy?" She said walking in.

"Oh god!" she said coming to his side seeing him crying.

"Are you ok?" she asked him rubbing his shoulder. He shook his head 'no' trying to hold back the tears. She looked down and saw that he was handcuffed to the hospital bed.

"Is this really necessary agent Todd?" she asked them upset.

"Not anymore." Kate said taking off the cuffs.

"If you think of anything Jeremy, anything you think might help us please call me." Kate told him. She handed her card to his sister.

Meanwhile Claire and McGee were still looking for the person who hacked the system. They were both looking through a ton of code on both ends of the computer.

"I got him. It's a custom code, it matches the one on Laura's computer. He's got hooks all over the system." Claire told him through the mic.

"I'm on it." He told her sifting through the info she was sending him.

"Ok he's using a router out of Fairfax. Tracing it back now." He told her.

"Interesting. He has his name in an encrypted file. 'ZED-DEATH-SIX'. This guy's arrogant, he likes to sign his work" Claire said. A bald guy with a soul patch was looking at her oddly. She noticed him staring.

"What? I talk to myself….got a problem with that?" she quickly asked him. He jumped in surprise and swiftly walked away.

"Got em." McGee said finishing the tracking.

"His name is Victor Grotinski, he lives in Woodbridge VA, on David's Fork road. 15 miles from Quantico." McGee said handing the info to Gibbs.

"That's good work McGee. Get Claire back here." Gibbs told him calling Tony on his cell.

"The coffee's for you." He said gesturing to the coffee he left on McGee's desk. Gibbs began walking away talking to Tony about where the address was. McGee picked up the coffee and happily started drinking it.

 **Claire's POV:**

After they had gotten to the address the suspect was already dead. His throat was slit and his eyeballs were plucked out. I had come straight over from the Scarlet Secret without any time to change. Gibbs was taking pictures of the dead man, while Ducky was examining it. Tony picked up a jar with a clear yellow liquid in it off of the shelves that lined the basement walls.

"What do you think this is?" Tony asked looking at it intently.

"Looks like he was rigging old systems together. Making his own supercomputer." McGee answered, instead looking at the computer system behind the dead guy. Tony looked over at the computer. He stood up and showed McGee.

"I'm talking about this." He pointed out dryly.

"Some kind of solvent?" I suggested.

"No…I don't think so. " Tony said starting to unscrew the lid.

"Oh I wouldn't open that if I were you." Kate quickly told him, rushing over.

"You know what this is?" Tony asked. Kate was about to respond when Palmer started bringing the gurney down the wooden stairs which made a loud noise as it bounced down. He had put the wheels down before coming downstairs. _Idiot….._ The four of us looked up at him from our little conversation circle.

"Hey!" Tony shouted irritably. Palmer just looked at us innocently.

"Oh…hi guys." He said quietly, before continuing his noisy decent. We just resumed our conversation.

"No…I don't, but considering there's no bathroom in this apartment…."she said with a grimace on her face. I looked around and noticed all of the filled jars lined up on the shelves. _EWWWWW!_ Tony had a disgusted look on his face and I quickly backed away.

"Uh Probie, bag that." Tony said handing it off to McGee.

"And while you're at it, investigate those suspicious looking containers." Tony told him gesturing to the big white buckets beside the pee shelves. I watched as McGee opened the lid of one of them to see what was inside. He let out a disgusted groan.

"I think I'll throw up now." I mumbles to myself as he put the lid back on. Gibbs found a remote and bagged it, then gave it to Tony to figure out what it controlled. Kate and I walked over to get a better look at the body.

"Ok Kate, what you think about Edipis over here?" he asked her.

"We'll there's no obvious signs of defensive wounds. Knew his attacker?" she suggested.

"Or he was surprised." I added.

"Why take his eyes?" Gibbs asked looking up at us from his crouched position.

"Send a message?" Kate said.

"Or a warning." Ducky added from where he was off to the side.

"Several South American tribes were known to ritualistically pluck out their enemies eyes. To prevent them from being followed. Of course they were cannibals so…"Ducky continued. Kate made a face at this information.

"You know I don't think we're dealing with cannibals here Duck." Gibbs told him. I tried not to chuckle at Gibb's obvious statement.

"No….I think not. Not this far north." Ducky told him. _This far north? Is that the only conclusion?_ Tony noticed something in the vent.

"Claire, can you come here for a second?" he called.

"I need your help with something." He told me not looking away from the vent in the ceiling. I walked over and looked to where he was pointing. There was a camcorder up in the vent. The only way to reach it was to get up on his shoulders, since I obviously can't hold him up on mine. I sighed reluctantly before scrambling up onto a smirking Tony. Once I was situated on his shoulders I pulled out my pocket knife and started unscrewing the screws on the vent.

"I had to wear a skirt today…." I angrily muttered to myself. I was so mortified that Tony had a full view up under my skirt. Tony lifted his head to look up.

"Do you see something?" he asked.

"You know, you really wouldn't like it if I dropped this knife Tony." I threatened.

"I'm still trying to decide if it's worth it or not." He told me still looking up my skirt. I immediately blushed at his comment. I finally got the vent open and pulled the camera out. I then handed it down to Tony who set it off to the side. He helped me hop down off his shoulders. Kate turned to pick up the camcorder.

"Now why would someone hide a camcorder in a vent?" she asked out loud. Tony let out a chuckle.

"You're kidding right?" he asked her. She just gave him a look.

"Oh…you know when this is over we really need to talk Kate…." he told her mock concerned. When she rewound and turned on the camera the video started playing. You could hear loud sexual moaning from the audio.

"Eww!" Kate quietly exclaimed.

"Ohh." Tony murmured. I gave him a stern look.

"Eww." He amended turning back to the video. The video was the dead man and a woman having sex on the chair where he was sitting. At the end of the video she slit his throat and pulled out his eyes. Because of the poor quality and the fact she was wearing a baseball cap it was hard to tell who the woman was.

After we returned to the office I changed back into my work clothes. Tony was disappointed…but what else is new. Gibbs told us that Ducky had something so we followed him down to the morgue. As we walked in we heard Ducky talking to the corpse.

"The Romans considered dying during the act of love to be a great honor Mr. Grotinski."

"Yea? What would they think about videotaping it?" Gibbs asked walking up to the table.

"Well from some of the art that I've seen from Pompeii, they'd rather enjoy it." Ducky told him with a chuckle. Gibbs cracked a smile.

"Well if I can tell you anything Ducky, passionate people…it runs in our…blood." Tony said pausing to look at the dead person.

"The only thing running through your blood Tony, is cholesterol. And possibly Chlamydia." I told him.

"It's curable." Shot back playing along. We both smiled and turned back toward Ducky.

"What do ya got Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"I sent some fluids up to Abby, which may be our killers DNA. But what is really interesting is how his throat was cut." Ducky picked up a big kitchen knife he had from his autopsy table.

"The knife was thrust into the side of the neck and then ripped forward. Severing both the arteries and the windpipe." Ducky showed us. Kate and Tony had nauseating looks on their faces while I knew exactly where that had come from. Tony was also rubbing his neck subconsciously.

"Very professional." Ducky finished. Gibbs was leaning down near the body observing during the explanation.

"And very familiar." Gibbs told ducky. Ducky nodded in agreement, while Tony and Kate still looked lost.

"You track down Laura Rowens. Tell her we need to talk." Gibbs told us. They just stood there confused.

"Duck?" Tony asked pointing to where Gibbs had left.

"It's a technique marines are taught to kill enemy centuries." I told them not looking up from the body. Coming from a military family I was more familiar with these techniques. Ducky again nodded.

"Her hubby taught her how to do a lot more than just shoot." Kate commented walking out.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The agents were furiously trying to find Laura Rowens. She wasn't with her mother and wasn't at home. The agents were on their way to the hospital thinking she would be there and Gibbs began speeding. Kate and Claire were in the back while Tony was riding shotgun. While En Route, Kate got a call from her cell. The sergeant on the base was at her house and the eyeballs were on the table. Kate leaned forward to tell them about the call.

"Sargent Haggarty has Laura Rowens in custody. And he also found Grotinski's eyes in her kitchen." Kate told them.

"She hired him to make it look like a third party set them both up?" Tony asked.

"Yup, and it's not a bad plan. It almost worked." Kate told them.

"Almost." Gibbs said still driving to the hospital.

 **Claire's POV:**

When we got to the hospital we went in to talk to Jeremy Davison.

"You have 10 minutes and make sure all your cellphones are off." The bitchy lutienant from the last time I was here, told us. Tony sent her a smile and she gave one back. I looked at him with distain and he just laughed at my expression. _Traitor..._

"You'll be moved to a civilian hospital tomorrow Mr. Davison." Gibbs told him. Jeremy's sister was sitting on a chair beside his bed. She gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh finally." She breathed.

"Any idea why this woman fixated on my brother?" she asked looking up at us eagerly.

"I was hoping he could tell me." Gibbs said looking at Jeremy. He looked down with a sad look on his face. When he didn't answer his Michelle reached for his hand.

"Jeremy?" she cooed while putting her hand over his.

"She wasn't happy, but she wouldn't leave her husband. I was gonna tell him about us." Jeremey told us. _That doesn't seem right._

"Well you're lucky we have her on tape slashing another guy's throat" Tony told them. The sister looked shocked at this news.

"You..you do?" Jeremy asked stuttering. _Tony told me that he said he stuttered when he got nervous. Why was he nervous about that?_ Is sister gripped his hand.

"The pictures damaged, but once the lab cleans it up we should be able to positively ID him." Kate told them. Gibbs noticed her hand gripping his just like I had. I looked up at the heart monitor and saw that it was rapidly rising. Something was definitely up.

"He won't be bothering you again." Kate said as we started heading out of the room. I took one last look back at the two of them before shutting the door behind me.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Once the agents had left the room the 'sister' closed the drapes looking into the room then turned toward her 'brother' and gave him a long kiss on the lips which he eagerly returned. Once they broke away she looked at him a moment.

"We have to get going baby." She told him. He quickly started taking off all of the tubes that were stuck in him while she started cutting off the machines. The front desk got an urgent call from Abby about the about Jeremy being part of several unsolved rape cases and that the two of them were partners. The doctor quickly ran into ICU to see if he was still there. When she got there they were both gone.

The two of them walked out of the hospital. Jeremy was leaning on her for support as he still had stiches and was sore.

"Those first two navy cops were dumb, but their boss and the other chick wasn't. Did you see the way they were looking at me?" She told him. Just as she finished Gibbs stepped in front of them from behind a car. They stopped in their tracks. Then they heard a gun click from one side of them, and looked over.

"Hey, does that sound harsh to you Kate?" Tony asked holding up his gun.

"Very." She replied coming out on the other side with her gun pointed at them. They heard the doors behind them open and saw Claire blocking it. Michelle took her hand away from where she was supporting Jeremy behind his back and reached for her coat pocket.

"Go for it honey!" Tony called to her.

"My first round is going through your right eye socket lady." Kate said. Gibbs kept staring them down from where he was. With an exasperated sigh and an eye roll she held her hands up in surrender. Jeremy also gave up but was holding his side in pain. Tony, Claire, and Kate made their way to handcuff them, guns still raised. Gibbs phone rang and he answered.

"Yea, Gibbs." He said.

"Don't you pick up your phone anymore! The DNA we ran on Jeremy Davison was used in 5 open investigations. He a serial rapist and murderer. " Abby shouted through the phone.

"Yea Abbs I know." Gibbs told her nonchalantly.

"And the girls he's with, it's his accomplice not his…. You know?" Abby asked.

"Got it covered Abby." Gibbs said hanging up. Back in the lab Abby was in shock.

"They know." She muttered facing McGee. McGee was confused on how when the two of them had literally just figured it out back at NCIS. Abby looked up at him accusingly.

"Did you know?" she asked him pointing the tip of the phone at him threateningly.

"No…." he told her still confused.

"If I find out that you knew….I will kill you." She told him.

 **Claire's POV:**

Back in the bullpen we were all finishing our paperwork from the case.

"I can't believe we almost let those two walk." Kate said from behind her desk. Tony got up and walked over to it.

"Davison isn't even their real names. Grotinski created those identities for them." She continued.

"It's amazing what you can do with computers these days Kate." Tony commented, while moving the camera on top of the computer to face her. She gave him an odd look glancing at the camera. I knew he was just trying to make her paranoid.

"Sure is Tony." McGee got up from his desk and made his way towards them with a file in his hand.

"I've…a…got a little something you might be interested in." he told Tony. _Now I was interested._ So I got up and walked over to where the rest of them were gathered. He pulled out a picture from the file. It was of an old, bald, overweight guy wearing a white wife beater tank top. He had some odd tattoos on his arm and a thick foo-man-choo type mustache.

"Who's this supposed to be?" Tony asked.

"I tracked down your cyber babe for ya. HotJugs24." McGee stated quite proud of this discovery. At that moment I lost my composure and started cracking up hysterically. Tony glanced at me as his face rapidly fell. He grabbed the picture getting a closer look. Kate saw the picture and tried to contain her laughter but failed.

"Yea she's a keeper DiNozzo." Gibbs stated walking past them. McGee, Kate, and I kept laughing while Tony rushed to his computer.

"I wonder if he wears a sports bra." Kate cheekily commented, earning a smile from Gibbs. I took another look at Tony's distraught face and I walked back to my desk laughing.


	6. Chapter 6

[Backup Date]

 **Claire's POV:**  
It was late on a Friday evening. We had spent the day doing what we do best, catching criminals. It wasn't anything to exciting but a long day none the less. Everyone was finishing up their paperwork before we all headed home for the weekend. Just as I finished up some emails I started to grab my stuff to go home. Yes, it was Friday but sadly I had no plans. I looked over at Tony noticing he wasn't chomping at the bit to leave like he usually does. He had spent the entire week going on and on...and on about some hot date he had tonight. It really got on my nerves that he was so head over heels about her. Her hair, her body, her sense of humor, I really just wanted to deck this girl because she was taking up all of my Tony's... _Hold up! No, he's not mine...where did that come from?..._ Anyways. I walked over to his desk to see what was up. When I stopped he didn't even look up.

"Hey, you ok? I thought you would be all excited about your big date tonight." He simply looked up emotionlessly.

"She cancelled." He looked back down at his work. I kinda felt bad. It was never fun to get cancelled on.

"I'm sorry to hear that. So what's your back up plan for tonight?"

"Well it looks like I'll be going to the restaurant alone. I can't cancel a reservation like that." _Hmmmm..._

"Get up." I told him. He looked up at me confused.

"Why..."

"We're going on a date." His eyes doubled in size and I couldn't help but laugh at his expression.

"Tony, not a real date. I'm your backup date. There's no sense in going alone. So both of us will get dressed up and go on that date so you can still have a somewhat enjoyable weekend. It's not like I had any plans anyway."

"Really?" he smiled up at me. He thought a moment and then turned off his desk lamp, signaling his leave.

"Alright I'll pick you up at our house at 8." He told me as we walked to the elevator. I smiled and as we walked down to our cars I got even more excited about tonight. It's not a real date though...I just have to keep remembering that.

 **3rd Person POV:**

Tony DiNozzo briskly walked up to Claire's apartment. He was actually really excited about tonight. Not that he would let her know just how excited he was. After all it wasn't a 'real' date.

As she heard a knock on the door Claire quickly ran around to her bathroom to double check herself.

"One minute!" she called out while fixing her hair. She quickly rushed over to the door and paused a moment trying not to seem too excited. She slowly opened the door and smiled at Tony. Tony on the other hand couldn't bring himself to move. His eyes widened and he consciously had to stop his jaw from dropping. She was stunning in her dress. He'd seen her in dresses before but for some reason she looked better than ever tonight. Her raven hair was draped perfectly around her shoulders accenting the strapless top of her knee length gown. It fit her perfectly and he loved it. And as always her, blue eyes just seemed to pop out and he couldn't help but get lost in them. After a moment she looked down at herself thinking something was wrong.

"Does it look ok?" she nervously asked him. He snapped back into reality and gave her a reassuring smile.

"You look fantastic! I was just a little shocked for a moment." he assured with a nervous chuckle. She rolled her eyes but smiled non the less. Claire grabbed her coat from behind the door and stepped out.

"Thanks" she told him. He held his arm out in a gentleman-like fashion for her to take.

"Are you ready to go my lady?" He asked in a posh accent. She giggled and took his arm.

"I am kind gentleman." With that they walked down to his car and toward the restaurant.

 **Tony's POV:**  
When we pulled up the restaurant I immediately jumped out of the car to open the passenger door for her. She gave me an amused smile, and I reflexively smiled back. I couldn't help it, her grin was contagious. Walking into the restaurant I was glad to see she was in awe of the place I chose.

"What did you think it was some cheap place?" I asked her in mock hurt.

"No! I've just never known you to go to places like this." She assured me. This made me even more pleased. We sat down and spent the next two hours laughing and enjoying ourselves. If I'm honest, I think I enjoy her company much more than I ever would have the other woman.

"I hope that I didn't do to horribly as your backup date tonight." She suddenly spoke up after a moment of silence. I looked at her oddly. _Why would she think this was a bad idea?_

"Of course! I mean I assume there wont be any sex after this like I had planned..." her jaw dropped in playful shock and subtly threw a piece of food at me.

"Of course you had that planned you pig!" she told me laughing. I just smiled. It's times like these that I really begin to regret all the time we were separated. Maybe we could have had a little different relationship... _Wait?! No she's just my friend. We work together, so that's all we will be._

"No, I have really enjoyed myself tonight. Thank you." I told her in all sincerity. She gave me a soft smile, which I returned.

"Anytime" she replied. _Maybe I'll take her up on that..._

 **3rd Person POV:**  
To everyone else in the restaurant, the two of them were a perfect couple. But in Tony and Claire's eyes they were only friends. That's all they both thought they could ever be. They both wanted to be more, whether they knew it or not at the moment. For now they were both content where they were, enjoying their time together.


	7. Chapter 7

[Doppelganger 1]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"This is the last time I'm going to tell you this, Tony. Don't answer my phone, use my computer, look through my mail, look through my purse, scan my PDA or touch my stuff EVER!" a livid Claire ranted at Tony. McGee watched from the side at his desk. Ever since Kate took her leave for a few days Tony had taken up the habit of snooping through Claire's things. And now she was fed up with his childish antics, even though she couldn't stay mad at him for long. Tony just looked at her in amusement. He picked up the phone and put it to his ear.

"And an extra side of hash browns" he said into it for a dramatic addition to her rant. He put the phone down and looked at Claire.

"Just so were clear, I didn't do any of those things. Zero, zip, nada." He assured her.

"Then how did you know where I went to breakfast." she asked him still fuming as she walked back to her desk. Tony smiled knowingly and tapped his temple, trying to act like he was some super detective.

"The logo on the coffee cup in your waste basket." McGee told her. Claire scoffed and whipped around to face Tony.

"Anyone invite you into this conversation Probie?" Tony snapped at McGee. He wasn't supposed to tell her that.

"You went through my trash!?" Claire shrieked.

"Did you ever say it was off limits? Huh? Did ya?" Tony asked her innocently. She closed her eyes in exasperation. No, technically she didn't have that in her list of things not to do.

"Why do you do these things?" she asked with a questioning look.

"Sharpening my investigative skills." He told her turning back to his monitor. Giving him a stern and annoyed look she sat down at her desk. Gibbs then came in, power walking to his desk coffee cup in hand.

"Grab your gear" he told them.

"What's up?" Claire asked.

"A dead sailor" he told her, not looking her way.

"We didn't get any calls" she told him confused on why they were going.

"It's up on the news. Huh boss?" Tony stated grabbing his jacket.

"Hey DiNozzo, for once you're right" Gibbs told him with an impressed tone to his voice. Tony stood up proudly and looked over at Claire.

"Come on let's go." Gibbs told his team while walking to the elevator. When they got down to the truck Claire decided to get back at Tony. He opened the passenger door, but before he could get in she slid by him and called 'shotgun'. Tony paused a moment seeing her in 'his seat' and then walked to the other side, smacking McGee on the back of the head in passing.

 **Claire's POV:**

We pulled up to a house in the suburbs. Getting out of the car we spotted a couple of cops waiting for us. Well at least one of them was a cop. The other man was wearing causal clothes but wore a badge, so I'm guessing he was a detective. The detective was nervously looking at us as we approached him. He seemed oddly familiar but I couldn't pinpoint it.

"Who's in charge here?" Gibbs asked flashing his badge and walking right past him.

"Lt. Chaney sir" the man immediately replied. Gibbs walked up to an older looking man wearing a trench coat and detectives badge.

"Lieutenant Chaney. Special agent Gibbs, NCIS" He greeted, flashing his badge. We all walked passed the nervous looking, younger detective giving greeting and looking him over. _He reminds me of someone, but who?!_

"You must be psychic Gibbs. I was just going to call NCIS." The lieutenant told him.

"Well I'm not physic, just watch the news." Gibbs told him. _He hardly ever gets along with someone this easily._

"They monitor our radio calls, chief says cooperate with the news media" the other man told him, with an unamused sigh. Gibbs let out a chuckle.

"Budget hearings time" Gibbs told him with a grim smile, understanding the situation.

"You got it" the Chaney agreed.

"What do we have here?" Gibbs gestured to the house.

"Not sure yet." Chaney answered with a sigh. _What's that supposed to mean?..._

"News said a sailor was murdered?" Gibbs told him.

"Maybe, kitchen door is broken in. and there's blood, it could be murder." Chaney told him. During this time Tony and I were watching McGee and the newbie detective make the same facial expressions and noticed a similarity. _So that's who he reminded me of…it's kinda freaky actually._

"Where's the body?" Gibbs asked.

"No body" he told him. _We're investigating a murder of a missing person?_ Gibbs and Chaney both took a sip of their identical coffee cups in sync. _Freaky….._ They even made the same slurping sound.

"Miller" Chaney called the young detective over.

"Yea boss" he responded, immediately scurrying over to him. Chaney and Gibbs handed him their empty coffee cups, indicating refills were needed.

"Right away boss" Miller assured, he gave them an awkward last glance and then walked off to get some coffee. Just like McGee would do. Tony, and McGee and I were watching this whole situation with wide eyes and dumbfounded looks. I wasn't the only one who thought this was weird.

"We got a 911 from a telemarketer, said he was on the phone with a Petty Officer Dion Lambert when he heard a struggle and the line went dead." Chaney informed Gibbs as they walked to the front door. As Miller walked past us we all turned to watch him go with questioning glances.

"The call was traced here." Chaney finished as they went into the house. Inside all you could see was that the once white walls were covered with blood smears and bloody handprints. It seemed a bit dramatic to me. The house was trashed and most of the furniture had been knocked over. It was pretty gruesome. When we came in a woman with short, blonde, curly hair walked into the living room from inside the house.

"Lieutenant?" she said walking to her boss.

"Your ex-wife just called." She informed, handing him his phone.

"Which one?" he asked. _I thought only Gibbs had more than one ex-wife…..what are the odds._

"The nasty one" she told him with a sigh.

"You're gonna have to be more specific" he told her. We were watching with still dumbstruck faces.

"This is too weird." I told them not looking away from the scene. There was a second me now.

"Definitely" McGee agreed.

"Good weird" Tony added checking out the female detective. _Of course he would into it._

"You want me to call her back?" the blonde detective asked Chaney.

"No, and next time one of my exes calls, get her name" he told her. Miller came scurrying into the house, coffee cups in hand. He handed them to Gibbs and Chaney. They tapped their cups together before taking another sip in sync. It still made the same slurping noise. The three of us were still watching all of this play out, we didn't even move from where we had been walking in. _What are the odds of there being a second team like us? All they were missing was a Tony._ Once they finished their sip they both let out a satisfied sigh.

"Unless you object this is your crime scene" Chaney told Gibbs. I was still being weirded out by the whole doppelganger thing going on here and they acted like nothing happened.

"No objections" Gibbs told him. Chaney nodded.

"Let's go Rachel" Chaney called to the blonde. Miller followed behind like a lost puppy, and Rachel pulled up the rear. Tony waited until the first two detectives walked out before he caught Rachel. He stood in front of her and started talking.

"Hi Rachel, I'm Tony. Uh if you want to get together and compare notes…." He trailed off smiling at her charmingly. She slowly kept walking forward and he walked backwards in front of her. She looked him up and down.

"What's your shoe size?" she asked.

"12" he immediately answered smugly. She let out a short laugh.

"Haha…you wish." She teased with a 'heck no' type of attitude and brushed passed him out the door. I started laughing at his useless attempts. Tony gave me a look and kept trying to convince her otherwise.

"No it is…it really is." He told her as she shut the screen door on him.

"You can measure it if you want." He called out through the door.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs called.

"Yea boss?" Tony abruptly turning away from the door.

"Trace evidence bag and tag. Claire, sketch and shoot. McGee, laptop and answering machine." Gibbs told us our assigned duties. I couldn't help but let out a laugh thinking about what had just happened with the other group.

"That was really odd." I told Gibbs, saying what everyone was thinking.

"Hmm? What?" Gibbs asked taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well you know. I mean how you…..and him…and…." I told him pointing at us and indicating Chaney while I talked. Surely he understood what just happened. It was hard to miss. Gibbs just looked at me like he had no idea what I was talking about. And he didn't. He glanced out the door and looked back at me, asking for explanation with his eyes. There is no way I can explain this to him, if he didn't see it when it was right in front of him. My smile dropped when I realized he didn't get it.

"Never mind" I dismissed the matter. I turned around and started looking through my bag to get started on the sketching. _It's not in here…._

"Tony have you seen my sketchpad?" I asked him.

"It's in the truck under my seat." He answered turning to glance back at me. I paused for a moment trying to process.

"Under your seat? How did it?..." I asked baffled. Tony paused and slowly turned to face me with an amused expression. _Idiot, he did it again._ I glared and walked out to the truck to get it.

"I like those pants" he told me with a childish smile. _Like that was going to get him in my good graces._ I briefly turned around from my spot to glare at him before storming out. On my way to the sidewalk I accidentally bumped shoulders with some guy who had not seen me. Since I was rushing at a good speed the force of the collision knocked us both off balance. We each let out a noise of surprise and turned to face one another. When he saw me he smiled, suddenly not bothered by what happened. He had brown shaggy hair and dimples. Wearing a long black coat and scarf. Overall he didn't look too bad.

"Sorry" I apologized with a shy smile.

"Wow!" he said peering at me intently. I tilted me head back and looked at him in confusion. _Why is he looking at me so closely?_

"You know your eyes are the same color as my Porsha" he told me. I let out a disbelieving chuckle.

"You've got to be kidding" I said trying to play it off. He chuckled too.

"What do ya say we have dinner" he immediately asked me, with a charming smile. _Funny, he hasn't even known me for 5 minutes._

"Why bother with preliminaries?" I joked back.

"Ahh? Now who's kidding. " his eyes widened and he grinned with amusement. I tilted my head forward with a confused smile. _I don't think we are on the same page…._ His eye brow raised and he looked at me for a moment.

"You serious?" he asked interested. Suddenly a hand came and smacked him on the back of the head.

"She's not, but I am." Lt. Chaney said while walking past us. I turned to look at Chaney as he walked passed, it just keeps getting weirder. _He does the head slap thing too._

"Come on Montaleony." Chaney called as he and the rest of his team headed to their car. _No way…it's their Tony. Italian name and everything. Weird…_ Montaleony gave me a smile, and chuckle before following. Still in shock I paused before turning around to watch them curiously. At their car, Montaleony opened the passenger door and Rachel bolted into the seat calling 'shotgun'. He closed the door irritably and smacked Miller on the back of the head while he passed him, to get in on the other side.

"Get in the car Probie" he scolded. I could feel my mouth hanging open in shock.

"It's like déjà vu…" I muttered to myself while shaking my head in disbelief.

Gibbs and I went to interrogate to telemarketer that called 911 at his work. We listened to a recording of the phone call that had the 'murder'. There was a lot of pained yelling and crashing, seemed just as brutal as the scene looked. The man turned off the recording once it finished.

"How many calls a day do you make?" Gibbs asked, looking out of the window of the conference room we were using.

"Somewhere between three and four hundred." He told Gibbs. _Yikes._

"You ever feel guilty calling people uninvited, intruding into their lives?" I asked him with a bit of a bitter tone. Yes, like every other sane person, I hated telemarketers.

"At first a little. When you get cursed at a couple hundred times you get over it." He told me with a snarky smile at the end. _He's starting to push it_.

"Why'd you keep selling when you knew something was very wrong?" Gibbs asked sitting on the table beside the telemarketer.

"My boss doesn't want us to stop selling for any reason." He said glancing out at his boss.

"He's got the compassion of a cluster bomb." Seeing his boss look over at him the man gave him a fake smile and thumbs up. I just rolled my eyes at him. _Kiss up._

"How'd you get Petty Officer Lamberts number?" Gibbs asked.

"From a list broker." He answered.

"How did his name get on the list?" I asked.

"I don't know. Uh…..magazine subscription, warranty card, supermarket charge." Now I was confused.

"Supermarket charge?" I asked.

"Why do you think they give you those little key tags they scan when you check out?" he asked me.

"For discounts" _Right?_ He scoffed in amusement.

"It's to collect information they sell to telemarketers. What brands you buy, how much, how often." He told me. During this I noticed that Gibbs took out the tape and stuffed it in his coat pocket while the marketer was looking over at me. I gave him a disbelieving laugh.

"Isn't that against the law?" I asked.

"Anytime you sign your name on something, its going into somebody's database and then being sold to somebody else." He explained, looking at me like I was an idiot.

"Well…ok…well" I glanced seeing Gibbs was labeling the evidence bag he had the tape in. So I continued distracting the telemarketer.

"I'm gonna need your work, cell, and home numbers." I told him standing up and giving him a fake smile. He begrudgingly pulled out his info card from his wallet.

"Alright, but please don't call between 6 and 8 because uh usually we…" he trailed of handing me the card. I had a devious smile on my face and I knew he regretted trying to make me feel stupid.

"You said 6 and 8? Right?" I asked tilting my head in amusement. _Like I was really going to listen to that. Oh payback is sweet._ He gave me a defeated smile and nodded. I smiled at him one last time and followed Gibbs out the door.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at the office Gibbs tossed the cassette with the recording onto McGee's desk.

"Tell Abby I want a full acoustical analysis." Gibbs told him. McGee looked up at him slightly alarmed.

"Uh..but..uh….. boss you know that she's working on Petty Officer Lambert's hardrive, answering machine, and all the crime scene evidence." McGee told him warily.

"Then help her McGee." Gibbs said taking a seat in his chair. McGee had an excited look on his face before taking off.

"Yes boss" and he rushed off to help her. Claire noticed this and raised an eyebrow in amusement. Tony got up and carried his folder over to Gibb's desk. He watched McGee take off.

"You really think it's a good idea for the Probie to be alone with the.." he trailed off when Gibbs gave him a look. Changing the subject Tony continued.

"I was going through Lamberts paperwork.."

"Something you're very good at." Claire cut him off with her sarcastic comment, in reference to earlier that day.

"There's another name on the lease. George Mansur." He told Gibbs, after giving her an unimpressed glance.

"There's no sign of a roommate in that house Tony." She told him, walking to look at the file herself.

"Well roommates move out Claire. 16 months ago you had a roommate…" She quickly punched him in the shoulder.

"Tony!" she scolded pointedly.

"Claire you're with me." Gibbs said ignoring their antics.

"Gladly" she said giving Tony an unamused smile. As she followed Gibbs she turned and mouthed to him, 'this isn't over'. She had to find out how he could have possibly known about the roommate.

"Tony, find Mansur." Gibbs ordered, not turning to look at him as he walked down to the labs.

"On it boss!" Tony replied with fake enthusiasm. He noticed that Claire had left her phone open on her desk, so he went to look at it. Glancing at the screen he noticed a man's name as the recipient of her text. David? This bothered him. No one in her family that he knew of had that name. Was it some new boyfriend? The thought bothered him. He glanced around making sure no one was nearby. Without touching anything he leaned over the desk trying to get a better look at what she had texted this mystery man. Suddenly a hand reached out and snatched it before he could see anything. Looking up he saw Claire giving him a death glare, clutching the phone to her chest. He sent her a mischievous smile before going back to his desk to work.

 **Claire's POV:**

In Abby's lab Gibbs and I were getting the run down.

"The only blood found at the scene was O positive." Abby told us. I was looking at the file so I skimmed through it to see if anything stood out.

"Petty Officer Lambert's is O positive" I pointed out.

"It's the most common blood type there is." Abby commented before moving on.

"I shipped a DNA sample to the armed forces registry." Abby told Gibbs.

"Are the fingerprints we lifted at the scene his?" Gibbs asked her. Abby ran a quick check on them. The screen started flashing positive.

"Your missing corpse is Petty Officer Lambert." She told with fake excitement. _Well now that we've stated the obvious…._

"Unidentified prints." Gibbs continued.

"I have not been able to analyze all the prints that you lifted yet." She told him. No wonder. She's been swamped with a ton of evidence to process.

"Blood spatter analysis" Gibbs continued walking over to her.

"Ok, Gibbs? I know you think I'm Supergirl…" she started to tell him before trailing off with another thought.

"Actually, my hair is more like wonder woman." Abby pointed out looking at me in conversation.

"Or Isis? Or the Powerpuff girl" she continued flailing her hands for dramatic effect, finally ending on a solid answer.

"I've always been partial to Zena." I told her thoughfully. Gibbs was in the middle just watching the two of us talk.

"I don't know about her. No self respecting superhero should wear open toed shoes." Abby disagreed. _That is a very good point._

"Oh I agree." I admitted, rethinking my answer. Gibbs started to get fed up with the off topic conversation.

"He erased his hardrive." McGee said from behind us. Abby and I focused back on the case.

"No problem." She told him.

"He used a DOD certified wipe program." He told Abby with a grim expression.

"Uh oh.." she said coming to a stop beside him. I am good with computers but that doesn't mean I know everything and all the nerd talk. This was one of those times.

"Uh oh, doesn't sound good." I said watching them look at the hardrive.

"It's not. A DOD wipe not only deletes, but it overrides 7 times." Abby explained to us. _Well that sucks._

"It's almost impossible to recapture the information boss." McGee said. _That really sucks._

"Why would someone do something like that to his own computer?" I asked.

"Well he's an information systems tech. it could just be a matter of course or he could be.."

"Hiding something" Gibbs finished, catching on to what McGee was thinking.

"Did he wipe his answering machine?" Gibbs asked after a second of thought.

"No. There were two calls. One yesterday from Blockbuster Video, and one two days ago from Thrifty Phone Services." McGee told him reading off the information.

"Let's hear it." Gibbs told him.

"You." Gibbs told Abby who was still leaning on the table beside McGee.

"Blood spatters" he told her pointing to her computer behind him. She stood up straight and trudged over, while chanting like witch's guards from the Wizard of Oz. Gibbs grinned, while I held in a giggle. McGee played the answering machine for Gibbs to hear.

"Petty Officer Lambert. My name is Dennis Borough, I'm calling on behalf of Thrifty Phone Services. How would you like to cut…" the machine said before it beeped, signaling that the Petty Officer had picked up the phone. Or something like that.

"That's it?" Gibbs asked.

"Must have picked up the phone." I told him voicing my thoughts.

"They called him two days ago, why call him back?" Gibbs asked looking back at McGee. Gibbs took a moment to think before turning to me.

"Dennis Borough, Claire." He told me.

"On it." I replied, making my way to the elevator.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"Acoustics analysis." Gibbs ordered McGee.

"Yes, I'll get on those." McGee said before sliding his rolling chair over to another computer and putting on the headphones. Gibbs stood in the middle of the lab, occasionally looking over Abby and McGee's shoulders at the computers while they worked. After what seemed like an eternity, which was actually a few hours, Abby's computer started beeping, indicating that they had found something.

"Who is that, that says always expect the unexpected?" Abby jokingly asked. Gibbs threw up his arms in exasperation.

"Me." He said walking over.

"Well you're right….again." She told him, but before she could explain why, McGee excitedly turned around and cut in.

"Boss you sure are!" Abby turned and pointed a finger at him to stop his talking.

"McGee you're about to interrupt unbelievable news."

"Abby trust me my news is much more unbelievable." He told her. Suddenly Claire rushed in shouting Gibb's name.

"You're never going to believe what I found!" she said rushing in. the three agents started loudly talking over each other, attempting to convince the other two that their discovery was the most important. Gibbs rolled his eyes and waited for them to finish. After a minute, Abby just stood still and raised her hand. Seeing this, Gibbs gave a loud whistle to get their attention.

"Abby" he looked over and pointed at her indicating she was going first. Claire and McGee glanced at each other before listening.

"Ok, this is the blood trail found on Petty Officer Lambert's kitchen floor. Notice anything hinky?" Abby asked as Gibbs walked up to the big screen to see the picture. The drops were perfectly round with no trail whatsoever.

"They're passive drops" he said.

"Exactly! Created by the force of gravity acting alone. In blood trials, the shape of drops are effected by gravity and movement. The tail always points in the direction of travel." She pulled up another picture to show the difference.

"There was no movement when the blood was dropped." Gibbs realized. Abby came up to stand beside him.

"Somebody stood there, dropped some blood. Took a step, dropped some blood, took a step dropped some blood…" she told him trailing off.

"McGee?" Gibbs turned to see what he had found.

"The acoustical analysis of the phone call indicates that the fight sounds were unidirectional." McGee pulled up an animation of the house to show on the big screen to show Gibbs.

"I overlaid Claire's sketch of the crime scene and found that the sounds were coming from Petty Officer Lambert's computer. They were sound effects boss." McGee said coming to stand beside Gibbs at the front too.

"Okay" Gibbs began processing the information. He turned to the remaining group member.

"Claire?" she walked up where the rest of them were.

"I spoke to Dennis Borough from thrifty phone service. He's home with the flu. The supervisor gave Dennis's lead to Roland Kesta." She told him. Roland was the man they spoke to who heard the fight sounds.

"Petty Officer Lambert asked that telemarketer to call him back." Gibbs said, understanding what she was getting at.

"Between 8 and 12 last night." Which was the time that the phone call and disappearance happened.

"Our petty officer faked his own murder" Gibbs said summing up what all this evidence was pointing to.

 **Claire's POV:**

Back in the bullpen Gibbs was pacing up and down the aisle in between the desks.

"We have one advantage over Petty Officer Lambert. He doesn't know, we know he's still alive." Gibbs told us.

"I'll flag all of his accounts. Bank credit, ATM, email." I told him. I was trying to anticipate his thoughts. Tony gave me a look from over at his desk, while I was leaning against Kate's desk.

"Claire, this dude faked his own death. He left his laptop, wallet, cellphone, and car behind. Do you really think he's gonna swipe his little charge card at the local drugs-R-us?" Tony asked with some sarcasm at the end of his sentence. _Well I thought it was a good idea…._ Gibbs paused his pacing beside us.

"Tony's right." Gibbs pointed out thoughtfully. Tony looked at Gibbs as he continued walking.

"Thanks boss." He said. Silently Tony flashed up two fingers and pointed two them with an 'in your face' triumphant look at me _. Oh sure, he thinks he's hot stuff because he got 2 things right in one day._ I just rolled my eyes and threw a pen at him. He barely avoided it.

"But you check it anyway, Claire. You never know" Gibbs said walking behind his desk. I stuck my tongue out at him, and flashed a triumphant smile of my own.

"Let's find his ex-roomie. Check his accounts too." Gibbs finished while sitting in his chair.

"I'm zoning in on it" Tony told Gibbs pointing his fingers.

"Yea? Did you locate him?" Gibbs asked.

"Not yet but, I got his driver's license." Tony told him pulling it up on the big screen.

"Federal tax return too." Tony added flaunting the paperwork in my direction.

"Freelance computer geek. Made 6 figures last year." Tony said with a frown, reading the information.

"Wishing you were a computer geek Tony?" McGee asked him.

"I'd rather be homeless, than be you Probie." Tony 'sweetly' replied, looking up at him. I ducked my head trying not to let Tim see my smile. I couldn't help it…..that was kinda funny. McGee sent him a sarcastic smile. Gibbs looked up at the ID photo.

"It's an old address, same as Petty Officer Lambert's." He stated.

"I appreciate the '93 hundi in his return." Tony said still reading off the paper in his hand.

"How can you appreciate a car that old?" I asked, suspecting something hinky.

"Why would a guy pulling in 6 figures a year, drive a car that old?" Tony asked looking over at me in agreement.

"Only one way to find out." Gibbs told us.

"Find him, and ask him. Which I am trying…" Tony noticed Gibb's look and changed his statement.

"Going... to do." Tony told Gibbs. Satisfied with Tony's answer, Gibbs stood up heading off to the next thing.

"McGee and Claire, you're with me." He said grabbing his gear. McGee quickly grabbed his stuff and followed me.

"Where are we going boss?" he asked on our way to the elevator.

"To see Petty Officer Lambert's shipmates." Gibbs told him.

"The petty officer didn't work on a ship boss?" I mentally face palmed. Gibbs gave him a look. McGee let out a shy laugh.

"Oh...sorry. You were using a navy euphemism." He realized.

"Ya think?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Well…uh…you mean Bethesda hospital computer center." McGee continued.

"You speak their language." Gibbs told him. _That's one way to put it._ The elevator doors opened so Gibbs and I stepped inside.

"Wait do you mean I'm going to interview them?" McGee asked surprised, still outside the doors. Gibbs pushed the button still waiting on McGee to get in.

"She helps interview. You translate." Gibbs told him. Noticing McGee was still stationary outside of the elevator I waved him in in with a 'come on'. McGee eagerly scurried into the elevator. _Computer nerds…_


	8. Chapter 8

[Doppelganger 2]

 **Claire's POV:**

We went to the computer center where Petty Officer Lambert worked. Gibbs was off doing his own thing while McGee and I were talking with one of the guys Lambert worked with. He was relatively short compared to the two of us. Not that I minded being on the tall side for once. I was taller for a woman at 5'8" but being around taller guys like Tony and McGee kinda put me at a disadvantage.

"Lambert is UA for one day and NCIS is investigating?" he asked.

"You got a problem with that Petty Officer Wilson?" I asked the man.

"No ma'am." He quickly replied. _I hate being called ma'am…..it makes me feel old._

"What was Petty Officer Lambert's job?" I asked leading them into the next room where all the computer desks were.

"He was developing a new codebase. For enterprise resource and planning. The new application will be able to support medical multiprocessing and structural architecture up to 8 terabytes of data." He told us. _What?..._

"Wow" McGee acknowledged looking at the officer. I looked to McGee for a translation of what the heck that meant.

"Um he was running a new computer program as part of an overhaul and update to the naval computer medical system." McGee explained with the officer nodding in agreement. _Why could he have just said that?_ I nodded in understanding before I continued.

"Anything sensitive?"

"Well a person's health information is very sensitive, ma'am." He told me, not understanding. _Ok let's clarify…._

"National security sensitive, petty officer?" I asked.

"We have a circuit based gateway, which applies a security mechanism anytime there's a USB, TCP connection established. Once that connection is made, packets can change hosts without further checking." He explained. Again I looked to McGee. Tim pursed his lips looking at me, thinking of a good way to explain.

"No." clarified. _He wasted all those words when he could've just said 'no'._

"Ma'am, Lambert's foot reps were…..above standard, ma'am. He was just a regular guy." Petty officer Wilson commented.

"Our definition of regular might be different." I told him. The petty officer looked to McGee to 'translate'. _Oh come on!? Really?_

"One man's linnet is another's OS2" McGee told him. The petty officer smiled and let out a laugh.

"I hear that." He told McGee agreeing.

"Right" McGee responded with a smile. I was thoroughly confused. They were speaking a totally different nerd language.

"Sorry" McGee responded seeing my obviously lost expression. He went back into serious mode.

"Any recent changes in his behavior or attitude?" I continued.

"No, ma'am…. Well, take that back. I few days ago he seemed a little jumpy. I tapped him on the shoulder to talk with him about the exsanguination gateway, and he about came out of his chair." The petty officer told me. McGee turned to me.

"He was nervous…" McGee started thinking he still needed to 'translate'.

"Yea I got that McGee." I quickly told him with an irritated look. McGee nodded sheepishly. _Did he really think I was that stupid?_

"Well we're gonna need copies of all this…stuff" I told Petty Officer Wilson, while gesturing to the computers. He nodded and then looked to McGee for translation.

"Uh, access to the source codes, flowcharts, and the logical processes in the application." Then the Petty Officer understood.

"Not a problem, ma'am." He told me with a smile and headed to the work station. Gibbs had walked in during the interview. Right as I was about to relay the information, a woman came into the room.

"Special agent Gibbs?" she asked. Gibbs turned with an interested look. They shook hands.

"Karen Wilkerson, Petty Officer Wilson's supervisor." She told him with a wide smile. Gibbs just looked at the blonde woman for a moment, while I just stood awkwardly off to the side.

"You're late."

"We're making a software changeover, it's been crazy." She told him.

"Hmm?" Gibbs mumbled. He gave her a soft smile. _…_ _.Wait…..a smile?..._ After a moment of silence he turned to McGee.

"Get copies of what we need here McGee." He told him. He then turned to me.

"Take the information back to the office give Abby a heads up." I nodded in acknowledgement and walked out. In the elevator I noticed that Gibbs gently held on to Karen's arm and escorted her out so they could talk. _That's really odd…._

When I got back to the office Tony kept badgering me about the reason I was so upset about him going through my things. All the while I was trying to work on the case.

"Enough Tony, I have nothing to hide" Tony didn't look up from his computer screen when he answered.

"Really? Hmm? For someone who has nothing to hide, you seem to care an awful lot about what other people know about you." I put away some files in the cabinet beside his desk.

"Why? Because I get upset when you go through my personal belongings?" I asked sarcastically.

"Exactly" he nodded in affirmation, ignoring my tone.

"Well Tony, some people enjoy having a private life." I told him walking back to my desk. Tony looked up at me like he was actually attentive to what I was saying.

"Unlike you we don't go around informing other people about the frequency of our hooking-up" I added a sarcastic smile in his direction. It always pissed me off when would always brag about his 'conquests'.

"In a slump?" he asked me. Mr. Subtle he was not. I just glared at him and gave him no response. It was none of his business, it's not like I was looking to hook up with anyone anyway. Before Tony could say anything else Gibbs walked past them to his desk.

"Gibbs, Mansur withdrew $6,000 from his bank account the week before he moved out." I quickly informed him.

"He's also moved 3 times in the last 6 years. This last time….why he didn't file a change of address at the post office, thank you." Tony added with sarcasm at the end of his sentence.

"Whatever the hell this is, they're in it together." Gibbs told us.

"Yea, well…..what is whatever the hell this is?" Tony asked.

"Find Mansur" Gibbs replied. _Well that was helpful._

"Yes, and we'll find out. I'm trying boss." Tony told him looking up things on his computer.

"Try harder" Gibbs said. _Ouch…_

"Right"

"Gibbs, you know…..maybe Lambert faked his own death to get out of the navy? You know? Wanted to make a few bucks like his roomie" I suggested.

"Not likely, his enlistment was up in 5 months." Gibbs told me. I nodded my head in contemplation. I guess that makes sense.

"McGee!" Gibbs called.

"Yes boss?"

"Check with Abby. Find out how's she's doing with that stuff you brought in." Gibbs told him. McGee left to go down to Abby's lab.

After a few hours McGee had told us that they found the tiny bit of code that was important. Apparently Lambert put a piece of code in the medical program he was working on for the navy. For every certain amount of painkillers and drugs, one of the shipments went to sell on the black market. So from there Gibbs told me and McGee to join him back at Lambert's workplace.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

McGee was sitting at Lambert's computer with Claire standing behind him. They showed Karen the code.

"Three lines of computer code, buried among millions. I'm amazed you found it." She told McGee.

"Well I didn't really. It was Abby Schuto, she's a whiz at codes." He told her.

"You never suspected Petty Officer Lambert of abusing his access to the navy drug systems?" Gibbs asked.

"Not until you showed up." Karen told him with a smirk. Gibbs sent one back. Seeing this Claire quickly averted her eyes and paid attention to what McGee was doing.

"When NCIS investigates a sailor who's been UA one day, there's something wrong. After you stopped by I had Petty Officer Wilson run a check on Lambert's computer." She told them.

"I never saw this." He told them then leaned toward McGee who was beside him.

"Schuto must be hot." He whispered. McGee looked taken aback, while Claire just smirked. He opened his mouth but no words came out, so he looked away.

"Oh she is" Claire told him, seeing that McGee wasn't going to answer.

"What made you suspicious, Agent Gibbs?" Karen asked him. They were a little ways away from the other three, at the coffee table. Gibbs started pouring some.

"A murder that didn't happen. Your Petty Officer faked his own death. He wanted us looking for his body instead of him" he told her, giving her the coffee.

"We would have too, if Abby hadn't found the hinky blood trail." McGee added. Wilson let out a groan of admiration.

"I gotta meet this woman." He told the two agents beside him. McGee leaned towards him.

"You know what, she's…uh… she's probably not your type. Tats, piercings, dark makeup." He told Wilson with fake sympathy. Claire gave him a bewildered look. What was he trying to do?

"Goth?" Wilson asked. McGee nodded.

"I love goth." Wilson said in all seriousness. McGee had frown on his face and blinked a couple times. He was not happy about that.

"I'll give you her number." Claire suggested. Wilson perked up at this but before he could agree, Tim cut in.

"You know maybe this isn't the time." He ground out, giving her a pointed look. She nodded her head but gave the Petty Officer a slip of paper when McGee turned his back. Gibbs and Karen kept whispering to each other about the case over coffee on the other end of the room. After a couple more minutes of working on the computer Wilson pulled up the address where the drugs were being sent to.

"Got it." He called.

"He had this prescription sent to box 781, 14th street, Bethesda." He told them. Gibbs started dialing a number on his phone.

"McGee, keep pulling Lambert's scrips. See if there's any in near the pipeline." He told him.

"Happy to boss." McGee told him and kept typing. Gibbs walked to the other side of the glass window of the room.

"Lt. Chaney, this is special agent Gibbs." Gibbs said into the phone. He tapped on the glass and signaled for Karen to get over there.

"So tell me more about this Abby." Wilson asked McGee, once she was out of the room. McGee looked irritated.

"You know what I can't work and talk. Okay?" He told him with a snippy tone. Wilson just tilted his head in acceptance. McGee didn't notice the weird look Claire was giving him. What was his problem?

 **Claire's POV:**

Later that day back at the office Lt. Chaney and Miller stopped by to assist Gibbs with who Lambert's dealer was. Miller however had been sent out to get us all some coffees. When he came back Miller was holding the drink holder while McGee was dishing out the coffees.

"Two black coffees." He said handing them to Gibbs and Chaney.

"A tall vanilla latte with extra espresso." He handed me my cup. Yes that's a lot of espresso, but I can handle my caffeine.

"And two grande, triple-pump, calf-caf, vanilla lattes." He said turning to Miller who handed McGee one of the cups.

"Op.. mines the one with the extra foam" Miller told him, indicating that he handed McGee the wrong cup. Gibbs, Chaney, and I watched them with blank stares. _They're such girls._ They switched drinks and tapped them together. The four of them took a synchronized sip. I was too distracted by the weirdness of the whole 'twin' thing to join them.

"So Gibbs, I've had my eye on this one guy. He's a lobbyist. Went from dealing to a few friends to supplying the beltway with illegal pain killers." Chaney told him.

"It syncs up." I told them.

"Miller?" Chaney asked with his hand out, indicating for him to hand over the file. The envelope was stuck in his coat pocket and so McGee went to help him. When he did this he spilt some coffee onto the packet.

"My fault." Miller said.

"No it was mine" McGee rebutted.

"No if I was more careful…"

"Not a problem.." the both kept mumbling to each other trying to clean it up.

"McGee?"

"Miller." Their bosses said after a few seconds of fumbling. I simply face palmed. They were so identically awkward and…..probie-ish, it was scary.

"Sorry boss" they said in sync. _It keeps getting worse._ Chaney took the file from them.

"Aaron Allen Wright." Chaney told Gibbs, showing him the surveillance pictures.

"Ever busted?" Gibbs asked.

"Once. Dealing to his frat brothers at Syracuse, got probation."

"Why haven't you busted him?" I asked.

"I want the other end of the pipeline. I bust him, his supplier just finds another dealer." Chaney explained. _Makes sense._

"He's soft. " Gibbs commented.

"We should get him in here for a chat." Gibbs suggested. Chaney chuckled at the idea and took back the photo from Gibbs. Chaney looked to Miller.

"Have Monteleony and Wren pick up wright and bring him here." Chaney told him.

"Sure boss" Miller replied pulling out his cell. He started texting his team. I noticed McGee peering at it.

"Is that the 72-20?" he asked.

"It's the 72-30" Miller told him.

"Sweet" McGee mumbled.

"Yea" Miller agreed. The other three of us looked at each other and shook our heads at the probies.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Inside the interrogation room was a young 'posh' looking guy and his lawyer.

"Petty Officer Dion Lambert." Gibbs told him.

"Sorry never heard of him." Aaron told Gibbs. Gibbs just keeps staring at him.

"A navy computer geek who steals painkillers from the government." Gibbs elaborated. Detective Chaney was leaning up against the wall by the door.

"What does swabbies stealing painkillers have to do with me?" Aaron asked them with a nonchalant attitude.

"He sells them to you, you sell them to your beltway clients." Chaney told him from his spot on the wall.

"This is a waste of time. I've advised my client not to answer your questions." The lawyer told the two of them while straightening his tie.

"And he won't" he told them.

The other members of both teams were watching from the observation room, standing beside their 'counterparts'.

"That is beautiful." Monteleony commented from his spot in the center.

"Frank Muller conquistador." Tony told him, while glancing his way. They were looking at the lawyer's watch.

"$7,800 in retail." Montaleony told him.

"Yea…you know that guy paid retail, look at him." Tony continued. They both were chuckling. Rachel and Claire looked at each other with disbelieving looks and shook their heads. They were both used to the distracting comments of the two men.

Lt. Chaney came to stand beside Gibbs at the interrogation table.

"We know you've been dealing for months." He told Aaron.

"Really? Then uh…..why did it take you this long to call me in?" he asked them. Gibbs nodded toward Chaney.

"The Lt. wanted your source. I just gave it to him." He answered.

"That uh….petty officer? What was his name again?" Aaron asked innocently.

"Dion Lambert" Gibbs told him, steely eyed. Aaron let out an exaggerated sigh.

"I'm scanning..." he told them while dramatically touching two fingers to his temple. He then threw up his hands in 'defeat'.

"No hits" he told them with a shake of his head. Chaney leaned forward with his arms leaning on the table.

"This isn't a frat bust for grass Aaron"

"This is hard time" Gibbs continued while standing and doing the same thing. He paused before continuing.

"Every night…..hard time." He said with a deadly whisper. Aaron started to fidget around looking uncomfortable.

"If tell us where Petty Officer Lambert's hiding" Chaney started.

"We'll cut you a deal." Gibbs told him finishing the sentence. They both were staring Aaron down.

"Minimum time in a federal facility, without nightly cavity searches." Chaney told him. Aaron nervously looked at his lawyer.

"Aaron if they had any evidence of you doing something illegal, which I know you don't….they wouldn't be talking deals." He told his client.

Miller and McGee crossed their arms watching this all play out.

"You know, I gotta listen to my lawyer. He's very expensive." Aaron told them with a sarcastic smile. The two of them paused before continuing.

"When I find Petty Officer Lambert." Gibbs started.

"And he will"

"He'll roll on you for a deal."

"Really?" Aaron asked not believing him.

"Yea. Wanna know why?" Gibbs asked.

"Cause he is soft." Gibbs whispered with a smirk.

"Just like you." He continued. He reached out to poke Aaron's face to annoy him. Aaron kept jerking his head away, uncomfortable with the action.

"What is this? Bad cop, bad cop?" the lawyer asked them. Chaney stood up straight, still maintaining eye contact with Aaron.

"Gibbs we miscalculated." Chaney told him.

"Ya think?" Gibbs asked with a 'no duh' tone.

"Aaron here is looking forward to playing strip poker in Marion. Without cards." Chaney commented. Aaron continued to nervously resituate himself.

"Is that true? Air-ron." Gibbs asked him. They lawyer stood up and faced Gibbs.

"Charge my client, or we're walking out….Now" he said looking between the two of them. The three of them just stared down one another before Aaron jerked up and started walking out.

"Bastards!" he spat at them.

"Aaron.." Gibbs called just before he walked out. Aaron paused and turned to look back at Gibbs.

"You won't last 48 hours at Marion." He told him.

"Oh I bet 24" Chaney said.

"5 bucks" Gibbs said making a bet. They shook hands on it, in a last attempt to get Aaron to break. Aaron and his lawyer walked out of interrogation.

 **Claire's POV:**

After Aaron walked out Tony and Monteleony were grinning and chuckling with each otherr. Gibbs turned around to face the 'mirror'.

"What are you laughing at DiNozzo?!" he asked. Tony immediately dropped his smile and went silent.

"And you Monteleony!" Chaney added. He also went quiet _._ _How did they do that_? Rachel and I shook our heads in annoyance while Miller and McGee just looked at them awkwardly.

"We didn't break him!" Gibbs continued. Chaney looked over at Gibbs.

"Made him piss his pants tho." He said laughing. Gibbs started chuckling too.

Both teams started making our way toward the bullpen. Tony pushed his way around me to get up front to where Rachel was.

"RRRRRachel" Tony purred, striding up beside her. We all just kept walking. Tony and Rachel in the front with me and Monteleony behind them.

"Hey how would you like to discuss that interrogation over some…"

"Chinese food?" she asked finishing his sentence for him. Tony gave her a bewildered look.

"I don't think so" Rachel finished. _Right on!_

"Yea, how'd you know I was…"

"Claire said you would." She answered, cutting him off again. Tony looked back at me and gave him an amused smile.

"Well Claire's just a little.."

"Jealous?" Rachel asked again.

"She tell you I was gonna say that too?" Tony asked. Rachel finally looked over at him.

"I'll give you one thing. You're almost as good looking as…..you think you are." She told him with a smirk. Tony stopped and gave me an irritated scowl. I shot him a smile and a pat on the back as I walked with Rachel down one hallway. The other team left to move along their end of the case, while the rest of us headed back to our desks.

As we were walking back to the bullpen, Abby came running up.

"Gibbs! George Mansur, Lambert's ex-roommate, he's online." She told him.

"Where?" Gibbs asked.

"I back traced his IP address to the Key Bridge Cyber Café, in Georgetown." She said reading off the notepad that she wrote the info down on.

"Tony, McGee you're with me. Claire, phone. Abby, keep tabs on Mansur." He listed off as he walked to the elevator. Tony and McGee ran after him, leaving me standing there lost.

"But…" I mumbled feeling left out. I turned to Abby and gave her a disappointed sigh.

"Boys night out!" I told her pointing back to the elevator.

"Which means girls night in." Abby countered. I took a moment and considered it with a smile on my face. Maybe this is a good thing.

"Transfer your phone to my lab" Abby instructed. I did just that. The two of us linked arms and walked down to the lab for girls night in.

Once we got down there we were sharing stories and laughing. After calming down a bit Abby turned to me with a smirk.

"So….you and Tony?" she asked. I gave her a blank stare.

"Me and Tony what?..."

"Are you two dating?" she asked. My eyes widened and I blanched in shock.

"What? NO?! Were just friends."

"But do you like him…as in crushing on him?" she continued. Thankfully before I had to answer my phone rang and I quickly picked it up. It was Gibbs calling to say that they found the Petty Officer dead. I grabbed my coat and rushed out of there.

"We're not done talking about this!" Abby called after me.

"Yes we are!" I called back sending her a cheeky smile.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The police cars were around with their flashing lights and one of them had their headlights on the body so they could see better in the dark. Monteleony was examining the body, shining his flashlight on it. Once NCIS came they set up a perimeter and had the caution tape all around the scene.

"Is this that petty officer who faked his murder Jethro?" Ducky asked examining the body. Gibbs was taking photos of the body.

"Unless DNA says otherwise." He responded. Ducky stuck the thermometer into the dead man's liver.

"Well he's not faking now." He told him. Gibbs kept looking at the body.

"Someone put one round into the back of his head." Gibbs said looking at the gunshot wound in his head.

"Yes, his hair was burned. I would say the muzzle was within two inches of his skull." Ducky said. Lt. Chaney was with the two of them listening.

"Aaron Wright doesn't have the guts to pull the trigger looking you in the eyes." Chaney told him.

"Yea well neither does Mansur. Although my guts telling me that Ducky is about to eliminate him as a suspect." Gibbs replied. He looked to ducky for confirmation.

"When did our boy die Duck?" he asked.

"Patience Jethro. Mr. Palmer is as home with the flue so I'm my own assistant tonight." He told Gibbs. The meter went off for the thermometer.

"Judging by the ambient temperature, this man expired between 18:00 and 21:00 hours." He told the two of them.

"How does that jive with your gut?" Ducky asked smiling.

"Well, let us see." He responded calling Abby.

"WHAT?!" Abby shouted into the phone when she picked up.

"Ohh!" Gibbs pulled the phone away from his ear quickly.

"Yikes Abby! What did McGee do this time?" he asked.

"He put his size 10 shoe into his size 12 mouth." She spat out.

"When did Mansur log on at the cyber café?" Gibbs asked her.

"16:65 pm. 4 minutes before the Tokyo market opened." She answered.

"The longest trading gap was 8 minutes until Neander-boy took over." She finished referring to McGee.

"Well when you're done with Neander-boy tell him to release Mansur." Gibbs told her.

"That might be a while Gibbs." She told him hanging up.

Back at the cars Claire was helping Monteleony check the parking spaces near the crime scene.

"Oh, no, no ,no ,no ,no…..I've never paid for it in my life." He told her.

"Uh huh." She responded unconvinced.

"Well I was 15 and my cousin Anzo paid Maggie Obrien for the both of us. But that doesn't count." He responded with a laugh.

"Yes it does Tony." She said fed up with the conversation.

"Um? I'm Primo." He slowly corrected. She abruptly shined the flashlight in his face, causing him to flinch.

"Sorry, I can't tell you apart.." she teased, being only half serious. He just laughed. Turning around with a smile she spotted something by the curb.

"Oh look at this. Someone's been chain smoking here." She told Primo. He came behind her and looked at the multiple cigarettes near the crime scene.

After Gibbs and Chaney had a 'talk' with Aaron Wright, we headed back to the computer office where Lambert worked. McGee was tracking some things on Petty Officer Lambert's computer. Aaron had told us that the person who killed Dion was his scam partner from work. So the logical suspect was Wilson, who worked right beside Petty Officer Lambert. Tony and McGee were monitoring him while Gibbs spoke with Karen, his superior. The computer started beeping rapidly.

"Boss. Found a Trojan horse on Petty Officer Lambert's computer. Accessing his programs." McGee told them glancing up at the petty officer. Tony began searching him.

"I didn't insert that." Wilson told them.

"Boss, just once I wish one of these guys would say….'you got me. I did it.'" he told Gibbs while patting down the petty officer.

"McGee? Claire?" Wilson asked looking to them for help.

"Sorry dude." She responded with a head nod.

"Ma'am you know me. I love the navy, I wouldn't steal from it." The petty officer looked to his supervisor.

"I believe you Niles." She told him. Tony found a pack of cigarettes in the petty officer's sock. He pulled out the cigarettes and handed them to Gibbs.

After Abby inspected the types of cigarettes that were found on Petty Officer Wilson and Aaron Wright, she discovered that they didn't match the ones found at the crime scene. This eliminated the two main suspects. But Claire had a hunch and so she called Gibbs to suggest the supervisor. Turns out she was right.

 **Tony's POV:**

After all of the paperwork for the case had been sorted out we were all ready to head home. I stood up and walked over to Claire's desk.

"Hey I wanted to apologize for my behavior recently. I shouldn't snoop through your things." I told her. He gave me a long look, seemingly surprised.

"Well thanks Tony, that's really mature of you." She told me with a smile. I smiled back and waited a moment before asking the question that's been bugging me for a while.

"So who's David?"

"Tony!" I gave her an innocent look.

"That's none of your business." She told me with a stern look. I raised an eyebrow.

"Well I didn't approve of this." I told her seriously.

"I'm an adult. So I don't need your approval." She told me gathering the rest of her stuff. She began walking out and as she passed me she slowed so she could whisper in my ear.

"And for the record, I'm not in a slump…I just don't broadcast it like you do." She said. _What?!_ I couldn't say anything. That was not what I was expecting. I just watched her as she walked away to the elevator. It never ceases to amaze me that she is the one person that leaves me speechless.


	9. Chapter 9

[Terminal Leave 1]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The team arrived at the scene of the bombing. A commander's car had been blown up in the parking lot of a supermarket. An FBI bomb squad van was heading down the aisle toward the bomb site too. Gibbs started walking and the van wasn't slowing down until it got right up on him. Gibbs took his own sweet time drinking his coffee and slowly walking to the crime scene, not bothered by the large vehicle that had skidded to a stop beside him. The female FBI agent in charge jumped out of the van and stormed towards him.

"Hey!" she called after him. He kept on walking. She caught up with him and shoved her badge into his face.

"Where the hell are you going?" she demanded. He fully turned towards her and scowled. She looked up at him a moment, not backing down.

"Gibbs." She realized. The rest of the NCIS team came up behind her.

"Oh you must be Gibbs. Fornel mentioned you." She said unamused. Gibbs flashed his badge at her.

"Did he?" he asked somewhat sarcastically.

"Mmhmmm. Agent Lina Rayes. FBI" she told him looking up.

"Your driver has a lead foot." he told her.

"Well, we tend to hurry when we suspect terrorism." she bluntly told him and walked away.

"So do we when the target is a naval aviator, Agent Rayes." he told her following behind.

"Lt. Commander Micky shields. She bombed civilians in Afghanistan."Rayes told them pointing toward the ambulance where Micky was sitting.

"Accidentally, article 32 hearing cleared her of all charges."Gibbs defended immediately.

"Yea by us. Not against those psychos overseas threatening jihadist threats against her and her family." She said looking back up at him.

"Have you um…spoken to your director?" she asked sassily.

"I did" he told her after a moment.

"Then we're clear. FBI handles the investigation, NCIS protects the intended targets." She snapped at him and started walking away.

"I want copies of everything you find." He told her. She ducked under the caution tape and just looked at him. Gibbs turned towards his team.

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs turned toward us after his encounter with the snotty FBI agent. She was….something. And watching Gibbs interact with her was like waiting for a bomb to go off.

"Claire, check with Commander Shields. Track down the rest of her family."

"On it" I nodded.

"DiNozzo and Kate, secure her home. Full surveillance perimeter."

"McGee, coordinate all feeds with MTAC." McGee nodded.

"Yes, boss." Gibbs walked away, probably to get more cooperation out of Agent Rayes. _Good luck with that._

"Oh sounds like were gonna need the infrared scope on this one McGee." Tony said excitedly.

"The one that can see through walls at night?" he asked frowning, unimpressed.

"Better than paid TV, and the best part….its free!" Tony excitedly rambled while flailing his arms for emphasis.

"And that's the reason why Tony." Kate told him. Tony looked up and sighed.

"Why what Kate?"

"Why you'll never get her home address." I said walking toward the ambulance.

I walked over towards the victim sitting on a gurney by the ambulance.

"I'm ok Jen. Look see" the Commander took a picture of herself and sent it before putting the phone back to her ear.

"I got worse scrapes in ejection seat training." She said smiling while the EMTs continued wrapping her arm. I walked up to her but didn't say anything to interrupt her phone conversation.

"Trust me honey I'm fine." she saw me and ended the conversation.

"I gotta go, I'll see you soon. I'll make you cha cha chicken for dinner ok? Ok bye." Once she hung up I showed her my badge. The commander sighed.

"NCIS, so I take it this wasn't an accident?" Micky asked me worriedly.

"We're not jumping to any conclusions, but considering all the recent threats." I told her tilting my head to the side. Micky looked over at the crime scene.

"I thought I left that war behind me." She told me.

"My kids could've been in that car!" she continued. I glanced over at the fried SUV.

"One mistake…" she let out an upset sigh before continuing.

"One horrible mistake." I silently stood there watching the commander rant. She shouldn't feel responsible for all of this.

"I read the report, commander. What happened in Afghanistan wasn't your fault."

"No, right or wrong, Its still something I have to live with. And fog of war just doesn't cut it when you're looking at 10 dead civilians." Micky countered. Her husband came running up.

"Micky!" he let out a relieved sigh and hugged her. I decided to go silent again so they could talk to each other for a moment.

"Oh my god are you ok?" he rapidly asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine sweetheart" she told him hugging back.

"Oh thank god." He said.

"Did you ever think you'd be happy running into Sarah in the parking lot?" he asked her laughing. She shushed him and laughed too. _I guess that's an inside joke…._

"So…so do we know who did this?" he turning towards me.

"Not yet Mr. Shields." I told him.

"Ok, so they could try it again?" he asked. They both looked at me for an answer.

"Well if they do we'll stop them. And NCIS will be providing protection for your family." I assured.

"Too bad you weren't around to save Libby." Micky said with a withering look toward her husband.

"Are you kidding? Libby?" he asked her. _Oh god…..was someone else in the car?_

"Uh…who's Libby?" I asked slightly alarmed.

"Oh! Our dog, Agent Conners." The commander assured me. _What a relief!_ I nodded my head in understanding.

"A nasty little thing, but the kids loved her." She continued. I looked back towards the SUV before finishing up my assignment.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Over by the scene Gibbs was bothering agent Rayes from the other side of the tape.

"I'll need copies! Of the surveillance tapes and security cameras" he shouted at her. She glanced over and slowly turned to face him.

"You'll get them." She told him with no enthusiasm.

"Today"

"I'll see what I can do." She said walking up to him. Gibbs nodded his head.

"You know what terminal leave is agent Rayes?" he asked. She didn't answer.

"It's what Commander Shields is on. In 4 days she'll be a civilian, which means I won't be around to protect her. That's how long you have to solve this case." He told her sternly, staring at the side of her head.

"You're giving _ME_ a deadline?" she asked him incredulously. Gibbs leaned in toward her face and she shrunk back a tiny bit.

"Don't screw up" he told her and walked away. Agent Rayes just watched and rolled her eyes before walking back to the SUV.

Back at the lab Gibbs and Abby were going over the security tapes.

"I see something." Gibbs said looking at the grainy tape on the big screen.

"You see speckling Gibbs." Abby told him.

"No, I see someone planting a bomb under her SUV." He said looking closely. Abby zoomed in on the commander's car.

"Do you know how many times this has been taped over? The DVR heads have scraped it down to the plastic, and let's not forget, taken through a lens that's caked with years of bird droppings." She told him from behind her computers.

"I think you can make a positive ID" he insisted.

"Alright. I'll try star witness." She told him typing.

"What's that?" he asked walking behind her.

"It's an enhancement program. Do a little polymorphic filtering, DNR lacing, algorithmic enhancement." she told him still typing. During this she was zooming in and fixing the pixilation of the feed to see the person better.

"And sharp masking." She finished. Gibbs was watching intently during this. Finally they could see the side of a person, but the SUV was blocking their face and most of their body.

"Yea….were getting somewhere now." He whispered walking closer to the big screen.

"I am. Straight into a brick wall. Gibbs, he's blocked by the vehicle." She told him thinking this was a lost cause.

"The reflection!" he told her pointing to the screen.

"What reflection?" she asked walking over.

"Abs, look at the finish of the car next to him." He told her still pointing to it.

"You're serious." she stated with a smile.

"Abs look at the door panel. Dark and shiny." He insisted. Abby clicked on her remote and zoomed in more.

"You can see a reflection." He told her.

"A reflection of whoever planted the bomb." She excitedly told him, now seeing the smudge of the reflection.

"Gibbs! You're hired!" she told him giving him a punch in the shoulder. He flinched a little before they both smiled and let out a small chuckle.

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony, Kate and I were all assigned to be at the house and protect the Shield family. The family were all sitting on the couch listening to Gibbs.

"I want everyone to go about their normal lives as much as possible." He told them. He nodded towards Tony who was putting his earwigs in.

"McGee" Gibbs told him. Tony turned toward the camera by the door.

"Systems check" he told McGee through the earpiece. He snapped his fingers in front of the camera.

From MTAC McGee was watching us and coordinating the camera feeds.

"Ok were up and operational Tony." McGee told him through the earwigs. Tony stood next to me.

"Boss." He called and gave a thumbs up. Signaling that everything was good to go.

"We will try to keep a low profile, but we need your cooperation. If you see anything suspicious, you tell us." Gibbs sternly told the family.

"I don't believe this." The daughter, Jen, muttered looking at her parents.

"Can I sleep at Amy's house?" She asked them.

"Not a good idea." Gibbs told her.

"We'll need advanced notice to clear it." Kate chimed, stepping forward. Jen scoffed and walked away. She paused by the walkway where we were standing and rolled her eyes at us before trudging up the stairs.

"It's all been kinda…stressful." Mr. Shields told us, in apology for her actions. _Sure that explains all the 'tude'._

"Pshhh…I'm outa here." The son, Willie, told them standing up. Gibbs and Tony walked forward to stop him from leaving. The boy looked at them cautiously.

"It's..It's an expression." He told them with eyebrows raised. _Tony should know that._

"I'm going to bed." He sassily told tony pointing in the direction of his room. Tony took a step back as he came forward and put his hand out to talk to him.

"Hey listen, uh…" he cleared his throat.

"You and me uh…we'll kinda…you know, be hangin." Tony told him. He desperately wanted Willie to get along with him so he wouldn't be a pain. Willie looked down and scoffed.

"You are kidding." He told him with a fake smile and tried to walk off again but tony stopped him.

"No, no. it's gonna be great." Tony told him with fake enthusiasm. He gave tony another fake smile before frowning and walking away again.

"It already sucks" he muttered. Tony stopped him again.

"Hey…yeah…I remember how I felt….when my dog died, Willie." He tried to tell him. Willie looked away in disbelief and glanced toward Tony.

"Bite me." He said before walking upstairs. Tony glowered at him and growled before silently snapping at him like a dog would. I walked up and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Down boy." I joked trying to lighten the mood.

Gibbs turned toward the parents who were still sitting on the couch.

"Well I guess we'll turn in too." Micky told Gibbs, standing up.

"It's been kinda "

"Stressful" Kate filled in for her. The Shields bid us all goodnight and walked upstairs. Gibbs looked toward the three of us.

"I'll take the front door." I told him.

"I demand to take the rear." Tony playfully demanded getting in my face. _Well 'duh'._

"Tony.." I said looking up at him in disapproval.

"Yes Claire, dear" he replied. I couldn't help but smile at his words.

"There's only one bathroom downstairs." I pointed out.

"And your point is?" he asked.

"The seat stays down." I said leaning up in his face.

"Unless it's up." He countered. _Always having a stupid comeback…_ He looked back at Gibbs. Gibbs' phone rang and he went to answer it while Tony smiled at me and we set off to work.

Abby told Gibbs on the phone that she found traces of C4 and it was a bomb. Gibbs realized they were dealing with an Al Qaida assassination team. _Oh joy….._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The next morning Claire was in the shower singing to a song on the waterproof radio. She was dancing along to it too. The song was a pop song with an Indian style vibe in the music.

"I'm sexy as I wanna be.

I got these fellas chasing me.

Let's go with this freak show.

Outrageous, when I move my body.

Outrageous, when I'm at a party…" She sang and danced along. Unknown to her, Tony was in the bathroom brushing his teeth and dancing along with her.

"Owtwragos." He mumbled along with the lyrics, toothbrush in his mouth. Claire heard him and quickly cut off the radio. She opened the curtain a little so she could peek her head out. This was a bit difficult and she blushed realizing that the curtain was clear enough so you could see her naked outline. Tony was practically seeing her naked.

When she looked she saw Tony in just his boxers brushing his teeth. She took a moment trying not to stare at his chest, and physique. It was harder than she thought. After composing her thoughts she glared at him.

"Tony?!" she shouted. Tony, who was brushing his tongue looked at her in the mirror. He paused his brushing.

"Get out of here! Now!" she continued.

"What I'm just brushing my teeth?" he asked her, not seeing the problem. Claire gave him a look that said, 'oh really?' Tony thought of a memory and smiled.

"I don't see the problem, this is just like Junior year of college. That week you let me stay at your apartment while the Frat house was being renovated." He told her smirking. She vividly remembered that too.

"It was not funny then, and it's not funny now. Plus I had a thicker and not as see through shower curtain then!" Tony raised an eyebrow. He had to admit that he didn't mind the change in curtains.

"Oh hey, down't use up awll the howt wawer cause wouve been in where forwever." He mumbled with the toothbrush in his mouth and turned to look at her.

"Tony how long have you been in here?" she angrily asked him. He took the toothbrush out and smirked at her.

"Long enough to know you can't sing." He teased wiping the paste off the side of his mouth. He looked down at her through the curtain and smiled, bringing the toothbrush back to his mouth. He struggled not to get too worked up and tried not to stare too long. lest he lose his cool. That would be embarrassing.

"And you've been working out a lot more." He added with a smirk, seeing her massive blush. She was close to being mortified. Claire glared at him and hit him in the face with a soaked sponge. The water splashed all over his face and knocked his head back at the force. He let out a chuckle and she quickly closed the shower curtain and continued showering. He glanced over at her again.

"Outrageous.." he mumbled with a content smile, that she didn't see. He sent a seductive smile her way and purred, before returning to his brushing.

At NCIS Gibbs was talking with agent Rayes.

"The bomb was C4, mercury detonator, shipped charge. We ran the identifying tag-ends on it and found.."

"It was stolen from a military base in Kuwait." Gibbs finished for her. She tilted her head in question leaning forward across his desk.

"And how do you know that?" she asked him. Gibbs sent her a fake smile.

"Our French Poodle told me" he answered. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply fighting her frustration.

"It's linked to Al Qaida units overseas. We've identified three individuals in the country who have links to their cells." She told him grabbing a flash drive from her purse. She pulled it out and glanced between the device and Gibbs.

"Do you know how to use this?" she asked him. Gibbs looked at her a moment before grabbing it.

"Sure." He told her. He looked at it and shook it beside his ear. Her eyebrows raised watching him. He then bit on it.

"You have no idea what that is do you?" she asked him dully.

"Not really" he said smacking it against his palm. She subtly smiled at his stupidity and walked behind his desk and took it from him.

"Didn't figure you for a tech type Gibbs." She told him. She plugged it into his computer and pulled up the files, clicking the button on the remote to pull it up on the big screen. What she didn't know is that Gibbs had on a smug and devious look while her back was turned. He knew exactly what he was doing.

"Kaleeb Hassan, involved in three bombings in north Africa. He was spotted by a traffic control camera in DC last week. Roland Allen…"

"Roland Allen Moore, former petty officer." Gibbs talked over her. He looked over to the NCIS most wanted board on the wall.

"Medically discharged when he lost two fingers in an engine room accident. Put in jail for bombing a recruiting office." He told her seeing his picture on the wall.

"Converted to Islam in prison." She added.

"And escaped a work detail three months ago." He finished looking back at her.

"Well our computer geeks suspect that he is one of the people posting threats to Commander Shields on an Islamic website." She told him before continuing to the next suspect.

"Fernando Patoya, he owns 5 ice cream parlors In Montgomery and Charles County. We believe that he's the reason that money laundering accounts for Al Qaida are linked to the Philippines."

"What about his connection to Commander Shields.?" Gibbs asked.

"Well he was sighted near the bombing 10 days ago. It could just be a coincidence." She answered.

"Ok bring them in for questioning." Gibbs told her.

"I can't do that. If I do then it could tip him off that we're on to him. And we are hoping that he could lead us to some of his contacts in the states." She countered.

"While you're hoping, I have a navy family leaving in fear they're going to be executed on their way to the mall." He fired back.

"If we bring him in, all were going to get is his name and some…BS cover story"

"Not if you put him in a room with me." He told her seriously. She just gave him a look.

"It's not gonna happen" she reiterated. Gibbs glared at her while she gave him a sarcastic smile and a 'sorry'. Gibbs looked at her for a second and then quirked his lips.

"Hey don't forget your thingamigiggy stick." He told her pulling it out of his computer. He was fully aware that it would leave the files on his computer.

"Well hold on a second I have to dis-…" she started but stopped seeing it in his hand.

"connect it…" she trailed off. She gave him a miffed look as he looked back at her innocently.

"You did that on purpose." She accused. Gibbs gave her a smug smile and walked past her. She held out her hand and he gave her the flash drive. Agent Rayes glared after him and walked off too.

 **Claire's POV:**

At the school I was standing around in the yard watching over the teen daughter. Kate would be the one to watch from the inside of the school. I could hear her and the boyfriend talking over to the side.

"I don't believe this! I bought tickets. Its green day." The boyfriend told her upset.

"You're acting like it's my fault" she told him upset. _What a jerk._

"Just tell me, are you going with me or not? Yes or no?" he asked her. She looked up at him exasperated and in disbelief.

"What's it gonna be Jen?!" he asked again, even more upset. She closed her eyes and let out a tired sigh. He turned and glared at me while he thought my back was turned.

"Lyle don't" Jen told him as he walked over towards me. I saw him out of the corner of my eye and turned to look at him _. I guess jerk face is coming to 'give me a talking to'. Like he could do anything._

"Half the schools not here today." He told me. I decided acted fake surprised by this. _I don't care._

"Is that so?" I sassily asked him.

"Because of you…" he told me hatefully before walking off. The bell for class rang and I glanced over to see Jen glaring at me.

"Thanks" she spat at me. _We'll that went well…_

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

While Jen was in class, Kate was outside in the hallway. She let out a bored sigh leaning against the lockers. Kate looked across from her and saw Jen's locker. She tilted her head to the side in thought and walked towards it.

"24-14-2" Kate mumbled to herself, trying to guess Jen's locker combo.

"No….22-14-20?" she said trying out the locker combo. She tried to open it but it was still locked.

"No.." Just then Jen walked out of the classroom and headed down the hallway.

"Where you going?" Kate asked her.

"Bathroom." Jen replied. Kate followed behind her. Jen heard the footsteps and glanced behind her seeing Kate follow.

"You gonna watch me pee, special agent Todd?" Jen asked her sarcastically. Kate paused and let out a fake laugh, before scowling. She walked into the bathroom and saw a stream of smoke coming up from one of the stalls.

"You had to go really bad huh?" Kate asked with an 'I'm not stupid' tone. Jen popped up above the stall and let out a breath of smoke.

"My parents told me you had to follow me around. Doesn't mean I have to talk to you." She told Kate. Kate stood in front of the stall looking at Jen.

"Do your parents know that you smoke?" she asked. Jen let out another breath.

"No. Are you gonna tell them?" she asked slightly worried. Kate bobbed her head side to side in thought. She grabbed the cigarette from Jen's hand and tossed it into the nearby toilet.

"Not if you promise to quit." Kate told her.

"Whatever." Jen answered pulling out another cigarette from her pack.

"You know you should be flattered. I used to protect the president." Kate told her. Jen scoffed.

"Of what?"

"The United States." Kate boasted. Jen gave a fake impressed look.

"Really?...and now you're protecting me?" she said.

"And your whole family." Kate added.

"What a waste" Jen told her lighting up the cigarette. Kate glowered at her.

"It might be four people, but it's not a family." Jen said looking at her.

"It hasn't been in a long time." She finished, taking another drag.

 **Tony's POV:**

After school I was with Willie at his soccer practice. The kid has been driving me INSANE!

"Ever shot anybody?" Willie asked.

"Not this week." I answered looking around for anything suspicious. _But you're the top of my hit list._

"You strapping?" he asked throwing my coat open. He saw the gun holster. I slapped his hand away and fixed the coat back.

"Cool a sig. Dude's got a Sig." he commented impressed.

"Dude's got a Sig.." I mocked.

"Wanna help me warm up?" Willie asked.

"Yea what do you want me to do?" I asked, not all that interested.

"Stand there and don't move." Willie instructed from the middle of the soccer field. Gibbs was patrolling the fence where the parents were watching.

"I think I can do that, huh…alright…don't move.. I'm good at that" I mumbled while looking around for any threats _. Maybe he was finally warming up to me._ Willie kicked the ball and pegged me in the head.

"Goal!" he cheered. I started charging at him with all intentions to wring his little neck. Willie quickly jumped back.

"Hey! Touch me, it's child abuse." He quickly told me. He ran back to join his team while I walked off growling. I made my way over to stand beside Gibbs, holding my head. _That really hurt_.

The soccer parents started arguing about the keeper and that he should be replaced. I noticed that Mr. Shields and Gretta, their friend, were for keeping him to have fun. Micky and Gretta's husband were for changing the keeper so they could win more games. _That's interesting…._

I was watching the practice from behind them at the fence.

"I want double overtime for this boss. That kids a nightmare." I told Gibbs. Gibbs looked over at Willie.

"He reminds me of you." He said. I glanced at Gibbs unamused. I looked back and saw Willie miss a goal.

"Oh! No goal! No goal!" I immediately cheered while poor little Willie just stuck his tongue out at me. I glanced over grinning and saw Micky staring at me. _Well this is awkward…._ She gave me a 'whats wrong with you?' look.

"Sorry.." I told her.

"Sorry." I called as I looked at Willie. I slowly walked back over to Gibbs and gave him an 'oops' look. I noticed Gibbs intently watching the guy on the lawnmower in the next field.

"Whats up?" I asked wanting to know what he was thinking.

"I don't know…but something doesn't feel right." Gibbs told me.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at the house Tony was watching Willie play an online battle game against McGee.

"He's good." Willie told him. Tony smiled from his spot next to Willie.

"Told ya I knew someone who could beat you." Tony said. He finally was getting some payback. Willie was focusing hard on the game so he wouldn't lose.

"I'm not sure about this DiNozzo…" McGee told Tony through the earpiece.

"Keep the faith McGee, you're winning." Tony encouraged.

"Playing unreal tournament in the Multiple Threat Assessment Center, is not what they had in mind when.."

"Focus Probie!" Tony cut him off.

"Oh!" Tony exclaimed watching them try to blow up each other.

"If Gibbs sees me playing this…" McGee nervously told him.

In MTAC Gibbs came in and saw Tim playing.

"Hey McGee?!" he said coming in. McGee froze up.

"Yea boss?" he asked not facing him. Gibbs leaned down to stare at the side of his face.

"Status report." He asked.

Since McGee wasn't playing Willie's player won the game. He cheered while Tony looked upset.

"McGee…" he angrily grumbled.

McGee glanced up at Gibbs nervoulsy.

"Uh..the..the girl is in her room…um..parents are..are in the kitchen with Kate…and um..I guess you know where the boy is." He told him indicating the game that he was playing. There was a long pause.

"Yup" Gibbs told him.

"It won't happen again." McGee quickly told Gibbs.

"I know" he said before walking away, leaving a frozen stiff McGee.

At the house Kate was mumbling to herself from the hallway next to where Willie was playing the computer game.

"2!" she shouted in excitement. Tony looked up from where he was moping on the desk and stared at her questioningly.

"22-14-22!" she said with a laugh. Tony just looked at her. She let out an excited noise and walked to the other room.

"Women Willie…can't live with them….can't think of a reason why you'd want to .." Tony told Willie. He was only half listening while still playing his game.

In MTAC McGee saw some movement outside the house. He called Gibbs.

"Boss I need you up here. Someone is running across the yard. Kate, Claire, and Tony intercepting." He quickly told Gibbs then hung up.

The three agents jogged toward the back door with their guns raised. They looked out the window and before they opened the doors they heard a thump coming from upstairs….


	10. Chapter 10

_[Terminal Leave 2]_

 **Claire's POV:**

Kate, Tony, and I started making our way up the stairs. With guns raised we silently walked down the hallway. As we neared Jen's room, where the sound came from, I saw the parents open their bedroom door. Tony quickly waved them to go back inside. Kate and I each took a side of the door and Tony kicked the door open. Jen screamed as we came in with guns raised and looked around. She was nervously standing in the middle of the room watching the us. Another thud came from the closet. I quickly turned my gun toward the sound.

No! No wait!" Jen frantically shouted at me with her hands up.

"Freeze!" Tony ordered her, stopping her from getting closer. Kate opened up the door while I aimed my gun inside, ready to shoot the intruder.

"Don't shoot him!" Jen yelled in alarm. I pulled the guy out of the closet and tossed him to the ground. Commander Shields came running in with her gun raised too.

"Jen get out!" she shouted running over to her.

"I'm sorry please don't kill me!" the boy shouted from his spot on the floor. _I know that voice…._ I took a closer look and let out an annoyed huff.

"Stand down Tony, it's the boyfriend." I said holstering my gun. Micky looked at her daughter in shock. _Oops…..I guess that's news to mom._

"Not real bright kid." Tony told him while I jerked the teen up.

"You're lucky you don't have two holes in that face of yours." He sternly told him. _This kid is a real idiot._

"Boyfriend?!" Micky looked at her daughter. _Awkward…._

Kate had left making sure that Lyle made it home fine, poor kid was scared out of his mind. I talked to Gibbs from the hallway through the earwig. Jen and her parents were inside her room talking while Tony and I were in the hallway.

"Gibbs, its Claire. False alarms" I told him, looking up at the camera installed in the hallway.

"One of the kids?" he asked.

"Daughter's boyfriend"

"Probably not the first time he snuck in, but I guarantee the last. Mom packs a Glock." I said trying not to laugh at the memory of his face.

"Where is Romeo now?" Gibbs asked.

"On his way home to change his pants." I said with a small smile.

"Juliet is getting her butt reamed by the Capulets." I told him, adding to the Shakespeare indication.

"Roger that, standing down. Keep us informed." Gibbs told me. I turned around and saw Tony with his ear against the door listening in on the conversation.

"What are you doing?!" I whisper shouted, rushing over.

"Uh listening." He told me. _Well I can see that._ I pulled him away from the door.

"That is just wrong." I scolded.

"Uh sneaking in your horny boyfriend into a house filled with armed federal agents who are looking for Al Quiada assassins…that's wrong Claire. Me, I'm just trying to gather some valuable intel so I can do my job better." He told me. _That actually is pretty sound logic, in a twisted way._ I looked at him thoughtfully. He smugly smiled when he saw I was giving in and then they both leaned against the door to listen in. _I feel like a little kid again, listening in when my brother would get in trouble with my parents._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"Jen? What the hell were you thinking?" Micky asked her.

"We weren't going to have sex if that's what you're worried about." Jen spat at her.

"That's not the point! That boy could've been killed." She told Jen.

"You don't even know his name!"

"Why don't we all just calm down" Mr. Shields put in.

"We've been dating for 6 months mom. His name is Lyle. Lyle James." Jen continued.

"Let's stay on target young lady. This is not about names." Commander Shields told her sternly.

"On target!? Do you think I'm one of your sailors?!" Jen asked snarkily.

"That's enough Jen." Her dad cut in. Jen jerked her head towards him.

"She doesn't know anything about my life dad! And why do you think that is Commander?" Jen mockingly asked her mom.

"I'm warning you! Do not speak to your mom like that" Mr. Shields told her sternly.

"Oh! All of a sudden you're concerned with mom's feelings?" Jen accused.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked her.

"Oh…what a joke.." she whispered venomously. Mr. Shields looked to his wife, seemingly not understanding.

"Is there something I should know here!?" Commander Shields asked them.

"Forget it…just forget it..." Jen told her, done with the conversation.

"Can I go to bed now?" she asked them. Outside the door Claire and Tony stood up and looked at each other in question. Something else was going on.

Gibbs walked into the lab, carrying Abby's replacement Caf-pow. She smiled accepting it.

"Check this out Gibbs, we got a hand." She told him. She typed on her computer and zoomed in on the reflection on the other car. Gibbs walked over to the big screen to see it better.

"That's a hand?" he asked her looking at the jumbled picture.

"It's the best I could do. Maybe not good enough." She said walking up to join him.

"How so?" he asked intently staring at the photo.

"Well, for some reason there's one area that none of the enhancement programs will work on."

"You tell if he's Middle Eastern?" he quickly asked.

"That or African-American." Gibbs kept looking at the picture.

"He's only got three fingers…."

"I know, I think the program screwed up. Sorry Gibbs" She said with a frown. He shook his head.

"He didn't….." Abby looked at him confused.

"He didn't what?"

"Have fingers there." Gibbs replied. Abby slowly looked back at the screen with a smile.

"So it worked?" Gibbs smiled at her.

"Uh huh."

"Cool. So what is he? Some sort of killer shop teacher?" Abby asked.

"Killer squid." He replied. Gibbs rushed off with a quick 'thanks Abs'.

"Yup." She replied even though he wasn't there.

 **Claire's POV:**

At the house Micky's husband was anxiously talking with his wife. She wanted to go for a run and he didn't approve of the idea. Neither did I for that matter, it was stupid going out in broad daylight where anyone could take a shot at her. Tony and I were getting our gear on but we could hear and somewhat see them from where we were sitting.

"This is insane Micky.." he told her.

"No its not" she replied rushing by him and sitting to put her running shoes on.

"When you get stressed you eat. I run." He tried again.

"Look why don't you just run on the treadmill?"

"It's not the same" she mumbled. He gave her an unamused chuckle.

"Ok, why don't you just do whatever you want. You always do anyway." He told her. She looked up at him.

"Agents DiNozzo and Conners will be with me. It's a run…..what's the worst that could happen." She harshly asked him. _Is she seriously asking that question?...There are people trying to kill her and she wants to go out in the open. Then has the brains to ask 'what's the worst that could happen?'…_

"Uh, you could get shot by a sniper!" he said giving her a 'duh' tone. She looked down at her shoes.

"That would solve a lot of problems wouldn't it?" She sarcastically pointed out.

"I can't even believe that you said that." He scoffed.

"What is wrong with you?" he pressed. She paused and let out a heavy sigh before standing up to look at him.

"I can't believe a lot of things David." They stared at each other for a moment before he shook his head with a heavy sigh. Tony and I were in the living room getting ready to jog.

"Running out in the open, this is not a good idea." I told him, voicing my thoughts. Tony was checking his gun.

"Well she's stubborn, doesn't listen to reason, and kind of used to getting her own way. It kinda reminds me of someone." He told me. He zipped up the vest he had over his long sleeve shirt. I laughed, tying my shoes.

"Yea, like a female Gibbs." I said looking at him. We were facing each other sitting in different chairs.

"See I was….thinking you…" he pointed at me with a smirk. I glowered at him but said nothing. The doorbell rang and Tony tapped on my knees fondly before answering it. I chuckled, shaking my head when he left. Tony looked through the peephole before opening the door.

"Nice you could make it Probie." Tony ushered McGee inside. He was late.

"Traffic was a nightmare, I'm sorry." McGee quickly told him.

"In the real world, with real agents we account for things like traffic McGee." Tony pretend scolded. McGee nodded his head in shame.

"We'll be back in about an hour. The monster is up in his room." He pointed up the stairs toward Willie's room. _Monster?_

"Listen, don't take it personally if he completely ignores you cause…..he will." Tony clapped him on the shoulder and walked back over to me. I gave him a look for calling that kid a monster. He innocently shrugged his shoulders. We heard Willie come running down the stairs with a broad smile on his face.

"McGee!" he came down and gave McGee a weird bro handshake thing. Willie smiled again and they both looked at Tony. He looked a bit upset but quickly masked it by looking around for nothing. Trying to be a good friend, I held in my smile.

"Come on!" Willie gestured excitedly for McGee to follow him upstairs. McGee followed. Once they went up Tony looked after them in bewilderment. He put his shades on, hiding his scowl.

"Oh yea, the monster will definitely ignore him" I sarcastically told him. He gave me a dirty look while I laughed. Some people just don't connect.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the FBI office Gibbs brought agent Rayes his findings.

"A reflective image" she commented looking at the image on her desktop. Turning around she saw Gibbs snooping through some files.

"So our bomber is Roland Allen Moore." She concluded snatching the file from his hands. She gave him a 'really?!' look. She walked behind her desk to put up the files while Gibbs made his way over to her filing cabinet.

"You don't sound surprised Agent Rayes." He told her.

"Well he was a suspect." She countered. Gibbs opened up the drawer and scanned over the files inside.

"That's true." He replied. She quickly set down the other files and quickly made her way over to close the drawer he was looking in. Gibbs lifted his hands up and looked at her with an innocent face, before moving to the other side of her office. She glared at his back.

"This is a nice office." He told her walking behind her desk.

"Thanks" she said dryly.

"Is that a surveillance request form?" he asked leaning over to look at her computer screen. She walked over and shut the monitor off.

"I'm pretty busy here Gibbs. So if you got something to say, say it!" she growled at him. She leaned back against the windowsill, crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at him. Gibbs slowly turned and stared down at her. He was standing really close as an intimidation factor.

"Direct, I like that." He told her casually.

"Where is he?"

"Who?" she asked.

"My former petty officer, Roland Allen Moore." He glowered at her.

"How would I know?" she asked not making eye contact.

"You're lying." She glanced at him.

"Know how I can tell? Your pupils just contracted, and your heartrate is increasing." He said staring her down. She kept eye contact this time.

"Well maybe I'm just attracted to you." She sarcastically suggested.

"You're hoping Moore will try it again." He continued, ignoring her comment.

"You wanna roll up his entire network."

"So what if I am?" she asked getting defensive.

"My people are protecting that family. If they have to they will die doing it. If that happens, ask Fornell what I'd do…" he told her in an alarmingly calm whisper. He gave her an icy glare and walked out.

 **Claire's POV:**

Micky and I were running up the sidewalk, side by side. Tony was trailing behind us. It felt good to finally get a good run in. I used to do it all the time, but recently the job has gotten quite busy.

"I run this route every day. Its exactly six miles." Mickey told me, slightly breathless.

"Are you up for an eight minute pace?" she asked.

"I am, let me check with my partner." I said. Slowing down a little I started to run beside Tony.

"You up for an eight minute pace?" I asked him.

"Behind us. White panel van, been with us the last two turns." Tony tensely told me. I glanced behind him to see he was right.

"Alright lets draw back, if he makes this turn we abort." I told him, discretely putting a hand over my gun under my shirt. Tony pressed his fingers to his earwig.

"McGee we may have a situation here." He called in. the three of us went around the next turn and the van followed.

"12 o'clock at the intersection." I quickly told him, seeing another white van up ahead of us. The driver ducked down. _That's not good._

"I see him." Tony told me glancing around. He pulled out his gun.

"Ambush?" I asked. I started running closer to the road ready to shoot at the vans if they made a sudden move.

"Take cover!" I shouted at Mrs. Shields.

"Break left! Break left!" Tony shouted following the Commander in that direction. She covered her head and ran left. I kept running on the sidewalk. Suddenly I heard a loud 'boom' and felt my body flying off to the side. I felt myself hit the ground before everything went black.

 **Tony's POV:**

I was running right behind the Commander when I heard the car explode. I felt the impact and it knocked us into the air. I hit the ground with a thud. After a second I heard tire squeals. Looking up with blurry vision I saw FBI agents getting out of the white vans. _What the?..._ I looked around and saw Commander Shields starting to stir beside me. She was fine, the agents were tending to her. Looking back at the flaming car by the side of the curb, I suddenly remembered something. Claire was running right beside the car when it exploded! My vision rapidly cleared and I quickly stood up to look for her. I saw her motionless body off to the side, a good ways from the blast. It must have shot her over there. I jogged over but slowed when I saw the blood on the side of her face.

"Claire? Claire?! Can you hear me?" I called kneeling beside her head. Taking off my vest I held it to her temple to stop the bleeding. She didn't look bad, just a couple scrapes and bruises. I checked her neck for a pulse. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding when I felt the steady beat beneath my fingers. She was going to be fine. I lightly tapped the side of her face in an attempt to wake her up.

"Hey time to wake up now. Claire come on…..wake up hon." I kept talking to get a response. I heard a groan and saw her start to stir. Her eyes fluttered open showing those mesmerizing blue eyes I loved. I smiled down at her while her eyes started to focus.

"Tony?...what happened." She groggily asked. It was kinda cute actually. _Wait, stop focus! She's hurt you idiot._ I scolded myself.

"How do you feel?" I gently asked pulling her up so she could sit against me. I hate to admit it, but I kinda liked this. Yes it would be nicer in a different situation, but I gotta take what I can get.

"Like I was standing next to a bomb when it went off." She dryly chuckled, but winced at the pain in her head. Her eyes widened and she started looking around.

"Where's Commander Shields?! And what about you? Are you ok?" she frantically asked. She's the one who was out cold and bleeding yet she asks about other people. Typical.

"She's fine. A little banged up but fine. The paramedics are on their way to check on her. And I want them to look at you too." I told her. She whined like a baby at the mention of paramedics. She didn't want to chance a hospital visit.

"Do I have to?" she asked. I nodded my head 'yes'. She closed her eyes and sighed. I sent her a small smile. I couldn't describe how I felt when I saw her laying there. If something happened I don't know what I would do. It physically made me feel sick just thinking about what could have happened. But my girl is tough. Correction….not my girl…..

 **Kate's POV:**

The FBI agents were taking pictures of the car that blew up, and walking around the scene for clues. Gibbs and I came to the scene to do our own investigation. I heard about what happened to Claire, she was lucky she was able to walk away. Gibbs walked up to me to talk about what I had learned.

"How's the Commander and Claire?"

"The Commander is fine, except for a few bruised she got when she hit the deck. Claire is about the same except for a couple scrapes that needed stitching. She and Tony have the whole clan on lockdown at the house." I informed him. I almost smiled at the thought of seeing Tony going into protective mode. Especially with Claire. He was dead set against her going back into the field, but she never listens to him anyway. He really does care about her on a deeper level. Sometimes it makes me wonder…

"No more runs Kate." I just looked at him. _Well duh!_

"You don't have to tell me twice Gibbs. They got lucky today." I told him. Agent Rayes walked up to the two of us. I turned back towards the scene.

"The blast was mostly contained inside the vehicle. There's also the matter of the five FBI agents that Tony and Claire almost shot." I spat out the last part facing agent Rayes. _Her lack of thought on this really pissed me off._

"They were there for your protection." She calmly told me.

"In unmarked vans, without our knowledge?" I fired back with venom. _That is just plain stupid!_

"The operation was need to know Agent Todd. You didn't need to know." She bitchilly fired back. I took a step towards Agent Rayes. _Like Hell we didn't need to know!_

"I've run Presidential protection details Rayes. You don't assign two undercover units without coordination!"

"They're not interested in protection Kate." Gibbs told me from the side. A look of realization crossed me face. I scoffed and nodded my head. _Of all the selfish and dangerous things you could do in this situation…_

"You wanted them to try again?" I asked in disgust. I couldn't believe someone would use other people as bait for terrorists.

"The FBI believes that the team after the commander is part of a much larger operation." Gibbs filled in when Rayes didn't respond.

"And they're the bait to draw them out?" I asked glaring in disbelief. _Who does that?!_

"Our intel indicates that they were planning something catastrophic. We were hoping that by following this team, they would lead us to the network." Rayes explained.

"And if the Commander and her family just happen to die in the process?!" I spat at her. Rayes gave me a look of indifference. _I can't stand this. She has no regard for anyone's life, just her own agenda. That family could die and so could my teammates. That is not ok!_ I gave her a humorless smile and scoffed.

"Wow….and I thought Fornell was a bastard." I told Rayes before walking off.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Rayes didn't respond to Kate's comment.

"It was your people that were lucky today agent Rayes." Gibbs informed her.

"Oh yea how do you figure that?"

"Because my people….. shoot to kill." He glared at her and walked over to Kate. Gibbs was also pissed off that one of his people got hurt. He came up behind Kate while she was writing in a notebook by the crime scene.

"You stay here. Make sure you get copies of everything they find." He told her. She nodded her head not looking at him.

"I don't trust her." Kate told him. He nudged her from behind.

"You're learning." He commented. She watched him walk off to the car. A woman and her son came up to Kate.

"Excuse me, hi my name is Gretta Whyatt and I'm a friend of the Shields. Is Micky ok?" she asked concerned. Kate nodded her head.

"She's fine."

"Cause I mean I just live right over there and we heard the explosion. I saw the paramedics carry her away and I thought…."

"She was just a little dazed, that's all" Kate assured her. Gretta let out a sigh and wrapped an arm around her son.

"Thank god. Uh, listen do you think It would be alright if we went over and visited?" she quickly asked. Kate, who was trying to work, looked back to them.

"The best thing you can do for her Mrs. Whyatt…is go home." She told her and walked away.

At the NCIS office Agent Rayes lifted up a lid on a coffee cup, and sniffed inside. She scrunched her nose up and looked away in disgust. Gibbs came walking in behind her.

"I got that coffee for ya Agent Rayes." he casually told her. He sat down at his desk.

"It's not as strong as mine, but if you don't want it…" he picked up the cup and set it in front of himself.

"You know I have been waiting here 20 minutes Gibbs. I'm not used to waiting…..I…I don't like waiting." She lowly told him. She leaned forward on his desk.

"Well yea that's why I got you coffee." He replied. He held it out to her.

"You sure you don't wanna try?" he innocently asked the fuming agent.

"What the hell do you want?" she finally asked him.

"Roland Allen Moore. In my chatroom, one hour." He told her with a smugly.

"Not gonna happen until he leads us to everyone in his cell." She told him with an eye roll.

"I'll get their names." He said leaning back in his chair.

"Oh how?" she sarcastically asked him.

"You gonna force feed him your coffee?" Gibbs laughed while she just stared distastefully at him.

"You see DiNozzo was wrong about you, you do have a sense of humor." She raised an eye brow, agitated. She rolled her eyes and started walking away.

"Don't miss the 6 o'clock news Agent Rayes…" he told her. She stopped and turned around to face him. She slowly walked back over to his desk with a disbelieving look.

"What the hell have you done?" she calmly asked him.

"Nothing yet." He didn't look up at her.

"Would you consider the FBI using an American family as bait to find terrorists news?" he asked finally looking up.

"You would blow our entire operation?" she asked. Gibbs picked up the phone and started dialing a number.

"Sure…..if it'll help me get Moore in my chatroom." He said glancing up. She let out an exasperated sigh and clenched her hands into fists.

"Look, even an agent as arrogant as you are has to know that what you're suggesting…is a career ender!" she threatened.

"Only if Moore doesn't talk…..if he does, it's a career maker." He replied still holding the phone to his ear. She scoffed. The phone picked up on the other end.

"Susan McRoberts please. NCIS special Agent Gibbs." He told the person. Rayes picked up a sticky note on his desk with the number. Gibbs held the phone against his chest to talk to her.

"You've seen Susan on the news right? Tall, blonde, news anchor who does the cute thing with the…." He started. Agent Rayes put her finger on the hold button. Gibbs looked at the finger and then looked up at her.

"That had better mean we have a deal, or you're gonna lose a finger." He told her.

"You don't crack Moore, the appendage that I'll cut off will mean so much more to you than a finger." She told him with a glare. Gibbs smiled at her as she walked away. He hung up the phone with a chuckle. He had won the match.

 **Claire's POV:**

The team and I were watching the news at the Shields' house. Gibbs had gotten Moore to give up the cell members and everything would return back to normal.

"The FBI announced the arrest of 4 alleged terrorists today. These men were part of an Al Quida cell that planted a bomb in Lt. Commander Micky Shields' car in a Tacoma supermarket on Wednesday and a second car bombing while she was jogging." Susan McRoberts, the news anchor, was reporting. Micky's family kept glancing over at her during the broadcast.

"My spokesperson said that they had a suspect under surveillance, which led them to a Silver Springs apartment. The agents captured the cell without firing a shot." She continued. We all rolled our eyes at the fake story. It was NCIS that cracked Moore and did all the work. But the FBI was taking all the credit again.

"Lt. Commander Shields was the naval aviator…" Mrs. Shields cut off the television.

"The news is really depressing these days." She joked to lighten the tense atmosphere. Tony sucked his teeth and shook his head.

"You have no idea Commander Shields." He told her. _You got that right. It's depressing to see the FBI screw us over, when they were the ones acting like idiots. Especially that Agent Rayes chick, she was just a bitch to us all._

"Actually it's not Commander anymore. Terminal leave is up, I am just Mrs. Micky Shields now." She told him. The rest of her family looked at her beaming. _Awwww_

"I kinda like the sound of that." She commented turning towards her husband.

"That's good." He smiled at her.

"Are we gonna let these people get on with their lives or are we gonna stare them to death." Gibbs mumbled to us.

"Uh, the equipment is loaded and stored. We are ready to move boss." McGee told him.

"Well then move McGee." McGee nodded and made his way to the door. The family got up to bid farewell. The parents went to see Gibbs and McGee out. While Jen was about to follow them, I cleared her throat and handed her a slip of paper. Jen took it and looked at it.

"You tell anyone where you got it, I will deny under oath." I warned. Jen's eyes widened.

"A blank hall pass…." she looked up at me with a thankful smile. I smiled back. She really was a good kid under it all.

"Signed by the principle." I added. Jen looked down at it again.

"Undated?"

"Erasable ink is the key….it's always worked for me." I told her smiling. Hey, I wasn't that 'goody goody' in school you all probably thought I was. Jen tilted her head and smiled at me. She walked over to the door to talk to Kate. Tony noticed our interaction and attempted to do the same with Willie. He let the Jen pass and 'smoothly' made his way over to the boy who was laying on the couch watching the news. He leaned over the back holding a hat and gave him a forced laugh. Tony really was awkward with kids.

"Well, here ya go!" Tony awkwardly chuckled patting Willie on the back. He handed him an NCIS cap. Willie looked at it with a grimace.

"Thanks…." He drawled out, letting the cap fall into his lap.

"Yea, I wouldn't wear it…unless I had to…" Tony attempted to play off his disappointment. _Poor thing._ He let out a breath before continuing.

"Cool…if there's anything you can think of…" Tony tapped the boy on the shoulder and stood up. He stepped over towards me so we could leave.

"Shades….." Willie requested. Tony turned around and leaned his head forward in question.

"What?" he asked.

"I like your sunglasses." Willie pointed out. Tony pointed to them, and laughed. He took them off to admire them. _This was going to be interesting, he loves those shades._

"Yeah….well that's not surprising, cause uh…..they're super cool Willie. See the thing is that, these are really grownup shades….." Tony started to explain why he couldn't have them. Gibbs walked up behind tony, took the glasses out of his hands, and tossed them to Willie. I slapped my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing.

"We're out of here." Gibbs told us. Tony gaped at Gibbs while Willie beamed.

"Thanks!" he said. Tony nervously laughed waiting for Gibbs to say he was joking. It never happened. Willie put on the sunglasses. He looked to Tony and held up his hand for a high five. _Aw good he's finally warmed up to Tony._ Tony reluctantly smiled and went to slap his hand. Willie pulled it away with an 'ohhh' just before he could do it. Tony glared at the boy and slowly made his way to the car. _Maybe not…_

We all got into the car and headed back to the NCIS building. Gibbs was driving, Tony in the passenger seat. McGee, Kate, and I were in the back. Tony was still moping about his sunglasses.

"Polarized lenses, impact protected, raked back curvature…" Tony ranted looking over at Gibbs and doing hand gestures.

"They were special order boss." Tony told him.

"Yeah? Well I never special order." Gibbs nonchalantly commented. _Shocking…._

"Isn't that funny….neither do I." McGee said from behind Gibbs.

"There's nothing funny about this McGee, and what part of this conversation is about you anyway?" Tony shot at him.

"Only the part about special order." McGee answered.

"I always special order." I told them pulling out my super cool sunglasses. I smugly looked at Tony while sliding them onto my face.

"Bright day out today." I commented teasingly. Tony glanced at me and turned away with a glare. Gibbs' phone rang, and he answered it.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"Yea Abs?"

"So the FBI finally sent me copies of the evidence from the second bombing. The pattern doesn't match the first. It was more 'BOOM' than 'BOMB'. There was no shrapnel, fertilizer and oil instead of C4, and placement inside the car limited the spread." She told him.

"Amateur night." Gibbs concluded.

"Sounds like. Oh, something else my hero. It was triggered by some crude remote control, like a garage door opener. It couldn't have been a range of more than 100 feet." She added. Gibbs hung up his phone and whipped the car around in the middle of the street. The agents riding with him let out shouts of protest and then were handing on to the sides for dear life. The agents looked at each other in question.

"Anything we should know boss?" Tony asked.

"The second bomb wasn't Al Quida. Somebody else wants the Commander dead." Gibbs explained.

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs sped back to the house. We all got out and I went up to ring the doorbell. There was no answer so I rang again. Then we heard gunshots from inside. We bursted into the house guns raised. Inside I saw Mrs. Shields in the doorway to the living room holding a gun up. Her husband was beside her looking shocked.

"It was….it was self-defense! She was just trying to protect herself." he urgently told us. On the chair laid a dead Gretta Wyatt. Her face was splattered with the blood from the hole in her chest. _She was their friend….._ Gibbs took the gun out of Micky's hands. Kate walked over and checked Gretta for a pulse. There was none.

"At least this time it wasn't an innocent civilian." I heard the Commander tell Gibbs. Turns out that Mr. Shields was having an affair with Gretta while his wife was away. He realized he messed up and tried to explain to her that he loved Micky. She went psycho girlfriend on him and when Micky walked in, hearing the conversation she pulled her gun on them. Apparently she was also the one to plant the bomb that hit me.

We all got back in the car once everything was taken care of. Tony glanced over at Gibbs as they drove in silence. After seeing and hearing all that, it kinda killed the mood.

"Actually I did special order once." McGee randomly told us. Kate laughed and Tony sent him a playful glare from the front before laughing at the goofy smile on Tim's face. I couldn't help but join in and noticed that Gibbs just smiled at us.


	11. Chapter 11

_[Mother Hen]_

 **Claire's POV:**

After we had gotten back to D.C. Gibbs sent us all home and told us to take tomorrow off so we could catch up on our sleep. Protection detail was exhausting. As I walked over to my car Tony came running up to me.

"Hey you are staying at my place tonight." I looked at him wide eyed. Was this a perverted joke or a pickup line?...

"Why…" I cautiously asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Because you're still hurt so you need someone to take care of you." Oh this again.

"Tony I'll be fine on my own. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." I threw open my car door and winced. I had some stitches on my temple and on my ribs. I also bruised my torso pretty good from being thrown by the blast. Tony raised his eyebrow at me.

"Really?" he sarcastically asked. I sighed. Once he got something in his head it was hard to stop him.

"Fine" I reluctantly mumbled. He beamed and grabbed my keys from me.

"We will stop by your place so you can grab your clothes and then drive to my place. Leave your car here." He ordered. I followed him to his car and got in the passenger seat. We drove over in silence to my building. Once we parked he hopped out and opened my door for me. I gave him a weird glance. He was acting really odd and hovering over me like something bad was going to happen. We walked up to my apartment and once I unlocked it I went straight to my room. Grabbing a small duffle bag I stuffed a bunch of comfy clothes in it, knowing I didn't need to dress 'cute' for Tony. Once I had gotten all I needed I met Tony back in my living room. He was looking at some of the pictures on my wall thoughtfully.

"How is Devon?" Tony asked. Devon was my younger brother. I smiled fondly at the picture he was looking at. Devon had me thrown over his shoulder, since he was much bigger and taller than I was. I was holding his torso and grinning at the camera from my upside down position. It was my favorite picture of us. We were always close since he was only a year younger than I was and our parents were always a bit distant. Well mom left and dad got absorbed into his training gig. So we relied heavily on one another. Tony and Devon got along great, thankfully.

"He's doing good. He's still on deployment." Did I mention he was in the navy? That's part of the reason I joined NCIS. I wanted to be able to protect and defend him, and his fellow sailors.

"Good. You ready to go?" Tony asked. I nodded and we headed to the car. The whole way over Tony kept glancing over at me and scanning my face for any discomfort. _What is up with him?_ We walked into his apartment and I threw my stuff onto the couch. Tony immediately picked it up and tossed it onto his bed.

"You're sleeping in my room tonight. I'll take the couch." He told me.

"Tony, no I can't do that." I protested. He was having none of it.

"No, I insist. You're the cripple." I glared at him, and he cheekily smiled. _I was not a cripple_. I grabbed my bag and headed into the bathroom to take a shower, too tired to argue at the moment. After a little bit of struggling to get my clothes off I stepped into the shower and felt my body relax under the warm water. After washing all the grime off me I stepped out into the now steam filled room. Dressing into my pajamas I walked out of the bathroom and grabbed a brush to start combing through my wet hair. I headed into the kitchen and saw that Tony had heated up some dinner for us. He wasn't really one for actual cooking. He handed me a plate and I gratefully took it as we both headed over to the couch and sat down. I winced a little and resituated myself.

"Are you ok? Do you need any painkillers or icepacks?" he quickly asked, picking up on my discomfort. I looked over at him curiously. Why was he so motherly and protective right now? Seeing my inquisitive look he stood back up and popped in a DVD. I wasn't paying attention to it as I kept thinking about his odd actions.

"What's up with you?" I finally asked him. He glanced over at me.

"What are you talking about?" he asked dumbly. I wasn't playing this game.

"Tony why do you keep looking at me like I'm gonna collapse any minute. I really am fine, just a little sore" I insisted. He sighed and turned off the movie.

"Look when you got hit, I freaked out. When I first saw you and you weren't moving I thought of all the worst case scenarios. I just couldn't handle the thought of losing you." he explained to me sincerely, maintaining eye contact the whole time. My heart skipped a little hearing that. _Well of course he would think that, he's my best friend. I would be the same way._

"Tony. I. am. Fine. You couldn't have done anything to stop what happened. I will be ok. I promise nothing is going to happen to me. I couldn't do that to you, you'd be so hopelessly lost without me." I told him seriously. He smiled a little at my last comment.

"Oh please I can handle myself just fine." he scoffed jokingly. I laughed at the thought. Suddenly the painkillers started to kick in. I tried to hold back a yawn but it didn't work.

"Tired?" he asked, yawning himself. I smirked. He stood up rolling his eyes and took my plate since I was done with it. While he went to put the dishes in the sink I nestled myself onto his bed. Tony came into the room and grabbed some clothes before walking into the bathroom to change. He came back out a little later dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. I watched silently as he started to grab some extra blankets. I stopped him before he could leave.

"Tony just stay in here, we can just share the bed. I know that couch is really uncomfortable to sleep on." He looked at me hesitantly but shook his head.

"No I don't wanna risk hitting you or causing you any pain. I can sleep on the couch, it's not that bad….." he trailed off. He was terrible at lying to me.

"Tony the bed is big enough for both of us, plus some extra heat might just help my muscles relax so I can sleep." I tried to persuade him. I totally made the muscle thing up, I just didn't want him waking up with a sore back just because he wanted to take care of me. He rolled his eyes and agreed.

"Now don't worry I won't try any funny business, I promise." I joked smirking at him. He snorted, but I thought I detected a hint of a blush. Maybe it was just the lighting. _Yea, that has to be it, why would he blush at a comment like that?_ I slipped under the covers and he got in after me. I had a weird calming feeling with him next to me, but I shook it off. He reached over and turned off the lamp so the room was plunged into darkness. I closed my eyes and rolled onto my back, so my ribs would be comfortable.

"Goodnight Tony." I whispered.

"Night Claire." I faintly heard before falling into a deep and blissful sleep.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Tony laid there for a moment on his side, looking at her sleeping face. She meant a lot to him and he was glad that she wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon. He knew the job was dangerous and unpredictable but knowing that she would be willing to stick around for him was comforting. Seeing that picture at her house, reminded him of the time he missed when they were apart. Maybe if he had tried harder to stay in touch things would have ended up differently between them. He shook his head and settled down to go to sleep. Those were crazy thoughts. Just to know that she was safe and for the most part unharmed was enough for him.

During the night he unconsciously reached over and put an arm over her waist, while she rolled slightly into him. That night they both slept without waking up, they were both instantly at ease just being in the same room as the other. Unfortunately when they woke up the next morning they had moved back to their original sleeping positions, unaware that their subconscious naturally drew toward the other. Perhaps one day they will realize the feelings that they both keep pushing aside.


	12. Chapter 12

[The Meat Puzzle 1]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Dr. Mallard was walking around examining three different bodies. Nothing too out of the ordinary for a medical examiner…the catch, all the bodies had been sliced and diced into 'meat puzzles'. The faces and fingerprints sliced off to prevent identification and everything else sliced and diced into hundreds of pieces. Ducky examined the second body once again before moving on to the third. He paused midway and noticed something out of place. Turning back around he peered down at the second body to examine the hand. Realizing the oddity he sighed and rolled his eyes at his morgue tech, who was listening to his IPod, observing something under the microscope at the desk.

"Mr. Palmer?" he asked. Palmer just continued bopping his head to the beat of the music coming through the headphones. Ducky walked over and pulled out one of the earbuds.

"Mr. Palmer?" he asked again.

"Yes doctor?" Jimmy shouted, still hearing the loud music in one of his ears. Ducky flinched briefly before staring down at the young man in disapproval.

"As a serious and dedicated student of anatomy…You are a serious and dedicated student of anatomy are you not?" he asked pointing at him questioningly. Palmer quickly nodded. Ducky gestured for Palmer to follow him. Jimmy Palmer set the iPod down and did just that.

"Well then Mr. Palmer are you up to the task of identifying the reconstructive blunder that has been foisted upon our deceased?" Ducky asked standing next to the second body.

"Uh….um…" Palmer was at a loss for words and looked at Ducky in question.

"Would you call this a thumb?" Ducky asked him, pointing to the appendage attached to one of the victim's hand.

"Um, I would call that a toe." Palmer told him, walking around to that side.

"Tell me then, why did you place it with the other digits of his right hand?" Ducky asked him, picking it up.

"Because that's where it belongs." Palmer explained. Ducky looked at him for explanation.

"If you look at the scar line it matches perfectly. Plus his right foot had a cleanly amputated right toe." He pointed out to his mentor.

This guy lost his thumb in an accident or something and had surgery to replace it with his big toe." Jimmy elaborated. Ducky got a far-off look in his eye as he remembered a man he once knew that had this exact same feature. Ducky gasped in realization.

"My god, I think I know who this is…" Dr. Mallard told him.

 **Claire's POV:**

I saw Tony come in from the corner of my eye, as he was slowly eating a cup of ice cream. _It's a little early for ice cream isn't it?_ He stopped by my desk but I continued typing up reports on my computer, ignoring him. Tony sat down on the edge, facing me while he placed another spoonful in his mouth. It was obvious that he wanted to gain my attention.

"Mmmmm. I love Philomena's ice cream." He commented pointedly. I looked up at him with a small smile at hearing the name.

"Philomena's in Georgetown?" I asked curiously. He nodded.

"My standard first date place." He elaborated. _Huh that's interesting._ I chuckled at the coincidence.

"I went there on a first date Saturday night." I told him. _That was a great date._

"Yea?" he asked me wide-eyed.

"After dinner I like to stroll the lucky lady down Wisconsin to this pretentious art gallery called…Impressions. They really eat it up." He told me. I looked at him quizzically. _There's no way this is a coincidence….Gibb's key rule._

"That's where we went after dinner." I told him shrugging off my hunch. It was probably nothing.

"Really?" he sounded mock shocked.

"Huh?" My smile dropped hearing him say that. _He didn't!..._ I stared at him, and he just glanced over at me curiously.

"You've been following me." I accused. _Is nothing sacred?! Why does he have to snoop around in my personal life?_

"Me? Follow you on a Saturday night?" he said trying not to laugh. Leaning forward seriously he added,

"I'm not that desperate Claire." I crossed her arms over my chest. _Since when?_

"I don't believe you."

"Well, I swear on my mother's life I was not following you." He told me. Gibbs walked in behind Tony.

"Your mother is dead." Gibbs and I deadpanned at the same time. _He wasn't fooling me, did he think I would forget something like that._

"I didn't follow her boss." He defended, leaning his head back to watch Gibbs walk over to his desk. Tony smirked.

"I do know her boyfriend, Steve Adler." He slyly commented popping another scoop into his mouth. I scowled at him.

"He's not my boyfriend!" I quickly protested. _Yet…_ Tony chuckled with a childish smile that I was tempted to smack right off his smug face.

"I don't believe this." I said looking at Tony. He gave me an innocent stare.

"Did you tell her about your fraternity brother yet?" McGee excitedly asked behind him as he joined in our conversation. I scowled. _He was in on this too?!_ _I work with sneaks._

"I was just getting to the good part." Tony told him. Kate glared at him on my behalf from her desk.

"Steve Adler is your fraternity brother?" she harshly asked him.

"I would show you the secret handshake….but then I'd have to kill you." He whispered threateningly. I rolled my eyes.

"I already knew that Kate, it's no big deal." I told her looking at Tony. His eyes widened in surprise. I guess he didn't realize that.

"You knew Steve was my Frat brother?" he asked.

"Yes Tony, I knew _Stephen_ was a Frat brother. I knew a lot of your Frat brothers. We met at a party back in college. A few weeks ago we bumped into each other and we've kept in touch since then." I said not looking him in the eye. He was weird about me dating his friends.

"And you were going to tell me this when?!" he asked, looking flustered. I just sent him a devious smirk and dismissed his question. I glanced around seeing if anyone was looking before asking Tony something that had been bothering me.

"He told you about our date?!" I asked him quietly as I leaned forward so no one else could butt in on the conversation. Tony scrunched up his face in thought.

"Well, not the intimate details…until I asked and….then he had to." Tony told me. McGee beamed over at his desk hearing this. I shot him a murderous look and he looked away quickly.

"It comes with the oath." Tony explained and quickly jumped off my desk before I could do anything. Like smack the living daylights out of him, as I so desperately wanted to. I closed my eyes in exasperation. _I'm going to kill Stephen…._

"Gibbs!" I shouted, very aware I sounded like a tattling child.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs called. Before he could get an answer Ducky came up to the bullpen.

"Jethro I need to talk to you." He urged, waving his hand for Gibbs to follow. Gibbs instantly walked over, following the doctor. I crossed my arms and glared over at Tony. Tony however was focused on where Gibbs and Ducky had gone off to. _I wonder what Ducky's problem was._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Gibbs and Ducky quickly made their way into autopsy.

"What he had was a great big toe transplantation." Ducky told Gibbs walking over to the second body.

"An incredibly arduous surgical procedure. Nerves smaller than a human hair are connected using microscopic sutures." Ducky pulled up a stool to sit on by the 'body' and held up the 'new thumb' and a piece of the hand to show Gibbs, who was patiently listening to his friend.

"They sewed his toe to his hand?" Gibbs asked leaning to look at the pieces.

"Exactly…..in a catastrophic injury when the thumb is lost, the patient's hallux or big toe is removed and attached to the hand." Ducky explained. He held up the two pieces together as a demonstration. Palmer who had been standing at the end of the metal table spoke up.

"You know the opposable thumb is one of the most important parts of human evolution. It's what makes us, us." He rambled looking at his thumbs and wiggling them around. Ducky glanced up at Gibbs with a miffed look while Gibbs smirked, seeing the similarity between the two medical examiners. Oblivious to the looks he was getting, Palmer continued.

"Our ability to make tools, a defining element that separates us from the animals, comes directly from _THIS_ dexterity." Palmer told them while holding up his thumbs and moving them around in circles. He finally looked at the other two in the room and noticed their facial expressions.

"Drawn out digressions is a privileged earned, Mr. Palmer." Ducky told his assistant irritably. Palmer put down his hands.

"Sorry doctor." He mumbled. Gibbs turned back to Ducky.

"If I'm right, the victim's name is Michael Grant. He was a Baltimore District Attorney. 10 years ago I testified at several cases he was prosecuting." Gibbs walked over to another body in the room.

"What about the other bodies Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Well at this point I still have no idea who they are." He answered. Ducky turned to face Gibbs.

"We need positive IDs Duck." Gibbs told him. He walked to the other side of the room to look at the third body.

"The flesh was peeled off the pads of the fingers." Ducky explained.

"That rules out fingerprinting." Palmer pointed out. Gibbs looked at him, causing Jimmy to look down and avoid eye contact.

"And the skin of the face has also been removed so photographic identification won't be possible either." Ducky told Gibbs who now stood across from him.

"Dental records." Gibbs suggested. Palmer tried to comment but thought against it, seeing the other two were in their own conversation.

"Unless we can find a record of Michael Grant's DNA, dental records will have to do." Ducky shook his head. Gibbs stood up straight.

"Do it" he told Ducky before walking away.

"Jethro!" Ducky called to him. Gibbs turned around and Ducky walked up to him.

"A barrel that's left at Bethesda, in my jurisdiction, containing dissected bodies, one of whom I knew. This isn't a coincidence, is it?" Ducky told Gibbs. Gibbs just patted him on the shoulder as an answer.

"I didn't think it was." Ducky sadly stated. Gibbs then walked out of the room to the elevator. Ducky let out a heavy sigh. This was clearly bothering him. What was going on here?

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs walked back up to the bullpen.

"Possible ID on one of the meat puzzle bodies." Gibbs told us.

"A DA named Michael Grant." He explained as he walked over to his desk.

"Hey cool, after 6 months we finally got a lead huh?" Tony commented positively.

"Find out if he's been reported missing." Gibbs ordered while checking his computer. Tony started looking it up.

"Kate, you and Claire pull cases where Ducky testified where Michael grant was the attorney." Gibbs added, glancing over at Kate.

"On it." She replied. I nodded and quickly got to work. Out of the corner of my eyes I noticed that McGee glanced over at Tony who then sent him a mischievous smirk before getting my attention.

"Pssttt!" he whispered across to me. I slowly looked up at him.

"Hey it looks like we're gonna work late…..so do you want me to call Stephen and cancel your dinner reservation?" Tony asked me, still whispering. I ignored him and glared down at my work. I was not going to let Tony get to me.

"This is a nightmare.." I mumbled miserably. Tony heard it and grinned broadly at McGee, who sent him an approving look. Tony sighed happily to himself, going back to work. _I'm gonna get him for this._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In autopsy Ducky was getting x-rays of the body's teeth.

"If you ever thought of continuing your genetic line, I would suggest a change of position." Ducky casually pointed out to Palmer while setting up the x-ray machine. Palmer looked up at him confused and looked at where the x-ray machine was pointing. He was standing on the other side of the person's mouth and it was pointed directly at his….. 'stuff'. He quickly covered it with his hands and scurried over to where Ducky was, behind the machine. The machine made a beeping noise and clicked off, signaling the picture had been taken.

"Jaws expand and contract Mr. Palmer. Teeth ware, but fillings, crowns, and bridges remain." Ducky told him. After printing off the x-ray of the teeth Ducky pinned it up to look at it and compare the picture with previous ones from Michael Grant.

"Let's see….4 fillings on the lower left bicuspids, crowns on the upper left molars." Ducky commented checking the similarities.

"It's him." Palmer said.

"Yes…it's he." Ducky agreed. Body number 2 was Michael Grant.

"Um, Dr. Mallard on a more personal note…" Palmer started but Ducky dismissed him.

"Not the time Mr. Palmer." Ducky scolded.

"I just want you to know that I am determined to learn from you." Palmer continued in a stronger voice.

"Your point quickly." Ducky told him, taking his gloves off and trying to leave. He was anxious to inform Gibbs of his findings and get this case over with.

"Um..it…it's important for me to know that, you know that even though there are nearly 2,000 pieces of tissue on these tables that I…I…" Palmer stuttered, trying to convey his point.

"Please get to the point Jimmy." Ducky huffed, standing at the open doors.

"I know the difference between a thumb and a toe." Palmer finally got out. He didn't want Ducky to doubt him and his medical skills. Ducky just looked at him blankly. He sighed and gave Palmer a dramatic thumbs up before walking to the elevator. Palmer watched with a frown on his face.

"He called me Jimmy…." A small smile appeared in place of the frown.

 **Claire's POV:**

"Michael Grant disappeared 8 months ago hiking the Appalachian Trail." Tony told us, pulling up a picture of the deceased on the big screen.

"His body was never found. Local Leos could never determine if he got lost or killed." Tony told Gibbs from his desk.

"Definitely killed." Ducky announced walking into the bullpen. I looked up at his sudden entrance.

"The poor fellow was then dissected into small pieces, put into a barrel of alcohol along with two other bodies, and deposited in a dumpster behind Bethesda Naval Hospital" Ducky continued, walking over to Tony. _Ducky's being rather grim and bothered by this case….._ Tony looked up at him clicking a pen in thought. Gibbs looked over at the two of them.

"Dental records matched?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm afraid so Jethro." Ducky answered with a sarcastically chipper voice. _Something is definitely bothering him, Ducky is not normally like this at all._

"Ducky, remember Judge Roland Davis?" Kate asked him.

"Of course." Ducky answered with a chuckle.

"A man of small stature and enormous ego. A competent jurist non the less." Ducky told her.

"He was the judge of the two cases you testified where Michael Grant was the lead attorney." Kate informed him.

"And what is the significance of that Caitlyn?" Ducky asked.

"He was reported missing 7 months ago." She told him. _This isn't good._ A look of understanding crossed Ducky's face.

"I'll run a dental comparison. The judge with the other two bodies." Ducky told Gibbs.

"Pull up the case, Kate." Gibbs told her getting up to look at the big screen behind him while she clicked the button to bring it up. The picture of the case and man on trial was brought up.

"Oh yes of course…." Ducky murmured apparently remembering it.

"Who could forget him? Vincent Handlin, a medical school washout. He was studying to become a…"Ducky stopped. Gibbs glanced over at him and they made eye contact. _What?_

"A medical examiner…." Ducky slowly told us.

"He was accused of raping and murdering a navy lieutenant who worked at Bethesda hospital's pathology lab. I performed the autopsy. She was a beautiful girl. I believe her name was lieutenant Sylvia…"Ducky started.

"Sylvia Waxell" I finished for him, reading off the file.

"Yes, that's right. She was working late one night. Vincent Handlin stalked her, with the intention of raping her. The speculation was that, he was unable to perform the rape. His impotence so enraged him that….he proceeded to beat the poor girl to death." We were all listening to him intently as he paced up the middle, reflecting on the case.

"When it went to trial, Michael Grant was the prosecuting attorney. Judge Davis presided, and I testified. The evidence was all circumstantial, so when the judge offered the jury second degree murder, they accepted it." Ducky finished.

"Vincent Handlin served 8 years in the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center." I read off the file.

"Kate, start building a profile on Vincent Handlin." Gibbs told her. She nodded and got to work.

"Tony."

"Find everyone involved in the prosecuting of Vincent Handlin fast." Tony filled in for Gibbs, picking up the phone. _I still don't know how he does that…._

"McGee, I need the last address for Vincent Handlin. I'm bringing him in." Gibbs said grabbing his gun. McGee didn't answer.

"McGee!" Gibbs said again.

"Um…umm…I'm sorry boss..I…I've already found him." McGee told Gibbs.

"Give me the address." Gibbs said.

"It's 22 Victor road, Mt. Ephram Cemetery…."McGee answered.

"He's been dead over a year." McGee said looking up at Gibbs. Gibbs looked up in exasperation at the bad luck. _Well this is problematic…now who's the suspect?_

 **3** **rd** **POV:**

Ducky was checking the dental records of Judge Davis with the other two bodies.

"Crown, crown. Match, match. Filling, filling…match" he concluded sucking in a breath of air. He let out a harsh sigh and turned to Gibbs who was standing next to him.

"As we feared. The second corps is Judge Roland Davis." Ducky gritted out, crossing his arms. The automatic doors opened and Tony and Claire walked in with frowns.

"Any guesses on number three here?" Gibbs asked.

"Carl Foss." Tony answered, sticking his hands into his jacket pockets. Gibbs looked up at him. Ducky turned to look at them in question.

"The jury foreman." Claire answered his unspoken question.

"Of course!" Ducky realized.

"Missing since last summer." Tony told them as he and Claire made their way over to the body and Gibbs.

"His x-rays are on their way over from their family dentist." Claire told her boss. Ducky crossed his arms tighter and frowned down at the corpse.

"Are you ok Duck?" Gibbs asked his friend.

"I assume this play is being put on for my benefit." Ducky grimly suggested.

"My testimony was key in putting Vincent Handlin in prison. I was able to lift a partial print of Vincent's off her body. You know thinking back I think I was slightly unnerved by Handlin during the trial." He told them looking Gibbs in the eye grimly.

"How so?" Claire asked. Ducky closed his eyes in thought.

"Well he just…seemed…particularly agitated….when I was on the stand." Ducky told her, remembering the trial.

"You were the medical examiner he was never going to be." Claire told him with sympathy.

"I was using his failure against him." Ducky added. Gibbs thought for a moment before speaking.

"You'll stay at NCIS as much as possible. Other than that one of us will be with you at all times." Gibbs told him, leaving no room for argument. Ducky chuckled.

"Jethro! My mother is 96 years old, she suffers from dementia. She gets very nervous when I'm not home in the evenings." Ducky told him walking to his desk.

"Tony, you'll take the first shift." Gibbs said looking at his agent. Tony nodded.

"With his mother…." Gibbs clarified. Tony's face dropped.

"Uhhh…..doing…doing what boss?" he carefully questioned.

"Whatever she wants." Gibbs answered. Claire smirked up at him. This was just what she was waiting for, revenge.

"Yes it would be helpful if you could assist with the dogs." Ducky told Tony when he had walked back over to the group. Tony's eyes widened and mouth dropped. Claire's devious smile widened.

"Ohhhh….guys…" he breathed out in dismay, looking desperately to Gibbs.

"I'm not really an animal person." Gibbs didn't respond so he turned to Ducky.

"Ducky I just haven't spent a lot of time with them lately." He tried to plead his case to get out of the protection detail. Claire just kept looking up at him, amused at his situation.

"The yappy creatures are all she has in this life. Well except me of course." Ducky told Tony as he maneuvered around him to look at something. Tony grimaced, knowing he wasn't going to win this.

"If Vincent Handlin is dead, then who is getting revenge?" Gibbs asked getting back on topic.

"His family." Claire suggested.

"Find them, Claire." Gibbs said walking out of the room.

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs, Kate and I were heading off to see the family. Kate grabbed her coat and PDA following us to the elevator.

"According to their tax returns, Vincent Handlin's parents are both morticians. They've run a funeral home for the last 13 years." Kate told him reading off the PDA.

"Siblings." Gibbs prodded. I pushed the button for the elevator.

"One brother, who's a taxidermist." Kate said. Gibbs and I looked at her.

"Mortician, taxidermist, and a wanna-be medical examiner." I commented. Gibbs shook his head at the family jobs and took a sip of his coffee.

"Yea the death obsession pretty much runs in the family." Kate said with a nod. We got on the elevator. _What kind of sick family was this guy coming from._

We arrived at the quaint little funeral home and went inside. We were walking through the coffin showroom talking to the father. He was a very soft spoken man who seemed nice and sweet.

"Vincent's conviction tore the family apart. His death pretty much put us under." He told us. _I almost felt bad for him…if his son wasn't a crazy rapist._ He led us to a door.

"Through here." He motioned to a set of doors and led us in. Mr. Handlin opened up another door and peeked inside before showing us in. Inside was Mrs. Handlin preparing dead body for a funeral. She was caking on some type of goopy concealer onto the woman's face, and had her picture beside it so she could make it look like her. _Gross._

"Mary." He said getting her attention as we walked in. She looked up over her round glasses with a sour face.

"Get these people out of here." She snapped. _Well someone's in a foul mood._

"They're federal agents…" he tried to explain to his wife.

"I don't care!"

"They're here about Vincent."

"They're not authorized!" she snapped. She looked at us with a nasty gaze.

"Get out!" she told us pointing to the door. _I get the strange feeling that we aren't wanted here._

"Individuals involved with Vincent's prosecution have been found murdered." Gibbs told her. She just looked at him bitterly.

"Good" was all she said as she went back to working on the dead woman.

"Good?" I asked her sharply. _No wonder her son was crazy, she's a sick woman._ She slowly looked up at me and I tried not to shy away from her hatred filled eyes.

"Vincent was innocent, he was a good boy. He was in medical school." She told me. _Like that means anything._

"Jack the Ripper went to medical school." Gibbs pointed out. _Beat that crazy lady._ She glared at him.

"When my son got out of prison he had nothing left. No hope, no promise. They labeled him a sex murderer." She angrily continued gooping up the woman's face.

"What was he doing when he got out of prison?" Kate asked.

"Well he was drinking….a lot." Mr. Handlin answered kindly from behind us.

"Oh that's all you have to say about your dead son?!" she snapped at her husband, giving him a murderous look.

"That isn't what I meant. I was just trying to explain how difficult his life was." He calmly told her. _How did they end up married to each other? This sweet man and rotten witch._

"What happened the night he died?" Gibbs asked him.

"He was driving with his brother and they hit a tree." He sadly said.

"Can you think of anyone who would try to get revenge on the men that put your son in jail." Kate asked.

"Me." Mrs. Handlin immediately answered. The three of us sharply turned towards her curiously. Was she confessing? She just looked at us.

"…but I don't know anything about it…" she softly and mysteriously told us. _This lady was giving me goosebumps….she was hiding something._

"So why don't you get yourselves out of here, before I call the authorities and have you arrested. And maybe you'll go to prison." She said with sarcasm and contempt, pointing her tool at me. I glared at her in surprise. _Was she threatening me?..._ Mrs. Handlin looked back at her work.

"Bastards" she mumbled loud enough for us to hear. Gibbs looked at her husband. He just gave him a look that said 'I know'. This family was messed up.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Ducky was holding up another dental x-ray for body confirmation.

"Two bridges, ten crowns, and seven fillings." He sighed and looked down at the body.

"Not exactly a peregrine of oral hygiene my dear fellow." He continued talking to the body. He handed the x-ray to Palmer who held it up to the light to look at it.

"Is it Carl Foss?" he asked.

"Was there any doubt." Ducky sharply told him. He sucked in a breath and got up looking at the bodies.

"Well that's all three. The prosecutor, judge, and now foreman of the jury." Ducky said pointing to each body as he addressed their title. Palmer looked worriedly over at his boss.

"Are you scared Doctor Mallard?" he asked, sounding like a curious little child.

"Madam Curie, one of the world's most brilliant thinkers, once said 'there is nothing in life to be feared…it is only to be understood'." Ducky told him pacing around the room and walking back over to Palmer.

"I think it's safe to say Madam Curie never set her eyes on a meat puzzle." He took a breath.

"Yes I'm scared." He finally answered. He looked around at the bodies in the room, shallowly breathing.

"Scared as hell." He added. Palmer turned to face him, a worried expression on his face.

"Put them away Jimmy. They're tired of talking, they need to rest." Ducky told his assistant before entering through a steel door connected to the autopsy lab. Palmer looked down sadly.

"Yes doctor…." He whispered.

 **Tony's POV:**

I arrived at the Mallard home. It was a good sized, antique looking, two story home. Overall not bad digs, Ducky has good taste. I got out of his car and walked up to the front door. I knocked a couple times and looked around to make sure no one was outside. I heard yapping from inside the house. _Why did it have to be little yappy dogs?..._ but no one came to the door. I turned back to the door and looked down at my watch, raising my eyebrows in exasperation. Just waiting on the old woman to answer the door. The yipping got louder and I heard a woman mumbling something to them after a few more moments of silence. The door opened to reveal a very elderly lady with a flowery dress, frock….thing peeping her head out of the door.

"Yes?" she asked looking at me curiously.

"I'm Anthony DiNozzo, Mrs. Mallard. I work with your son." I told the obviously confused woman. She squinted at me.

"He called and said I'd be coming over." I continued, shouting a little bit so she could hear.

"You're Italian!" she chirped, her confusing fading away. I chuckled uncomfortably.

"Yes I am." I confirmed with a smile. She opened the double doors wide open.

"You're a gigolo." She said with a smile. My face dropped and I licked my lips. _A man whore…..why is that her correlation with Italians. But I'm not one right? I mean I enjoy a variety of women, but I'm not that bad right?_

"Uh….well I wouldn't exactly call myself….." I started.

"You move furniture." She said, in 'realization'. I looked at her and squinted my eyes in confusion at her random statements.

"I could…" I said glancing around. _Gibbs did say whatever she wanted….._

"I have a commode that has no business being here. It belongs in the lounge." She said pointing her cane to the lounge off to her right. I leaned forward and looked in seeing multiple little dogs sitting in there.

"I've told Donald this, he never listens." She said mildly distressed. I paused and gave her a confused look. _I really don't know how to handle bi-polar, demented, old ladies._

"I understand" I quickly told her before stepping inside and trying to get started.

"Ok.. if you'll just show me where you want the.." I took a step, but she quickly lifter her cane up and hit my shins. I flinched back in surprise. She had an angry look on her face. _What the?!_ The dogs growled from the lounge. I stood up straight and looked at her wide eyed.

"Who are you?..." she lowly asked me.

"Anthony DiNozzo" I said pointing at myself. She didn't understand and kept staring.

"Everyone calls me Tony." I added.

"That's an Italian name." she said with the same low voice.

"Yes it is?...so if you just show me where you…" I started to reach for the seat she wanted moved but she held her hand out.

"You're a gigilo.." she said mildly alarmed this time. I looked at her wide eyed. _This lady was crazy. She is even more bi-polar than I thought._ She stood up straight.

"If you look down my blouse, I shall disembowel you." She sternly told me. I continued to stare at, unsure of how to approach the situation. I chucked, glancing at her small and frail frame.

"That's funny." I told her.

"I have a knife in my brazier." She whispered with a crazy glint in her eye. My smile dropped.

"I'll keep that in mind." I answered.

"Good." She happily nodded, before her smile dropped and she looked at me questioningly. _Uh oh….._

"Who are you again?" she asked. I leaned my head forward, completely baffled. _Not this again! Claire was always better with old people…..and dogs. This was going to be a long shift…._

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs, Kate and I had gone down to visit the brother at his taxidermist shop. He was tall with dark hair and glasses, and was very awkward. His shop was creepy too. Gibbs was looking closely at a stuffed badger. Jonathan, the brother, was working on his panda. _I'm pretty sure that they are endangered…and stuffing them is illegal….._

"Couldn't there be another case, where these men worked together?" Jonathan asked, not looking away from his project.

"I haven't found one" Gibbs told him, still looking at the dead animal. Kate walked around behind them.

"Your brother's case is the common link." She explained.

"I would love to have stuffed Vincent." He commented wistfully. I whipped around and gave him a incredulous stare. _What is it with this family?! Are they all psycho?_

"He would have liked that." He chuckled. _Yea cause every normal person wants to be stuffed and posed._ His smile dropped and he continued working.

"Had a good sense of humor, Vincent did." He said sadly.

"But it's against state law." He continued, referring to stuffing his brother. Gibbs stood up and looked over at him.

"Oh!" he suddenly exclaimed and walked over to a stuffed jaguar.

"Best mammal at the regionals lasts year." He showed us. Kate smiled kindly and walked over.

"Like anything else, you get obsessed." He joked.

"It becomes a way of life." At this point I was feeling really uncomfortable, he severely creeped me out. He nudged his way back to his panda, not looking any of us in the eye.

"I thought pandas were endangered" Kate commented, pointing to the bear he was working on. _Oh so I wasn't wrong in thinking that._

"Oh they are…recreation category." He explained.

"I took two black bears, I bleached one, and then I sewed them together in a panda pattern." He told us. Kate and I warily glanced at each other. Gibbs looked at the side of Jonathan's head, since he was so preoccupied.

"You miss your brother?" Gibbs asked. Jonathan paused momentarily.

"He's my brother." He simply said and continued brushing the 'panda's' fur.

"You two get along?" he asked. Jonathan glanced up at him.

"When he got out of prison he was depressed. He couldn't go back to school, he couldn't get a job. He started drinking heavily." He told Gibbs.

"You didn't answer the question." I reminded him. He was avoiding direct answers. Jonathan looked back down at his work.

"We were close." He simply said.

"And I have no idea who killed the men that put him in jail." He added.

"What happened the night he died?" Kate asked. He looked up at her.

"Vincent was driving. He lost control. We went off the road into the woods… My head hit the dash….. hard. …I stumbled out of the car, fell to my knees. When I got my bearings I saw the car was on fire." He told her with a somewhat haunted look on his face.

"Do you feel guilty you didn't pull him out?" I asked. _I would be devastated if I had let my brother die in a car accident when I could have done something._

"I was told he died instantly from the impact…..that he never felt the flames." He told us. He zoned out for a few seconds, deep in thought.

"I think he felt the flames….." he said. He stood with a dazed look on his face before snapping out of it.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, rushing off to another stuffed animal. The three of us watched him with curious eyes. I looked over at Kate and make a circular motion next to my head saying 'he's crazy'. She lightly smacked me in an attempt to get me to be polite.

"Second place nationals…small animals division." Jonathan pointed out to us.

"African Sivit." He informed us, patting the animal. Gibb's phone rang.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"Yeah Gibbs." He answered.

"Boss, I've been running down other people involved in the Vincent Handlin case. I got something good." McGee told him.

"Spit it out McGee." Gibbs told him, while touching a posed raccoon.

"The lead detective in the case was a Baltimore officer named Marco Cesaretti. He retired in '96. Missed his last rent payment, no one has seen him in three weeks." McGee told him. Gibbs hung up the phone. Another victim he assumed.


	13. Chapter 13

[Meat Puzzle 2]

 **Tony's POV:**

I've been stuck here with the old lady for hours now, and those stupid little yapping devils are just staring at me as I struggle to carry the 'commode'. I did not dress for manual labor today.

"Where do you need this?" I shouted from my hunched over position trying to carry a large rounded chair, which she calls a commode. I continued to let out a series of strained grunts trying to hold it up. Slowly I shuffled the bulking furniture towards the living room.

"Mrs. Mallard?" I asked in irritation. She had asked me to move this for her yet neglected to give me any more direction before she wandered off.

"Mrs. Mallard?" I called again, straining evident in my voice. _It's a good thing no one else is here. I'd never hear the end of it._ The old lady scooted up behind me.

"Who are you?!" she asked in alarm, obviously frightened by my 'sudden presence'. _Not this again!_ I turned my head to explain the situation for the hundredth time when my eyes caught the large kitchen knife she was holding. _Oh crap….that's new! Nothing frightening about an old demented lady holding a large knife._

"And where are you going with my commode?" she asked me, pointing the knife threateningly in my direction. I sighed heavily.

"I'm your son's coworker, remember?" I warily explained, eyeing the knife. She stared at me blankly.

"Tony DiNozzo…the Italian gigolo furniture mover?" I elaborated, hopping that the same phrases she keeps telling me would ring a bell. She looked at me oddly. Before we could continue the conversation, the doorbell rang. She instantly made a move to go answer it and the yappy dogs started barking, when they realized someone was at the door.

"No!" I shouted, stopping her from opening the door. I quickly set down the chair and stood in front of her, startling the old woman. I held up my hand for her to wait and pulled out my gun causing her to shout in alarm and drop the knife.

"I'm a federal agent ma'am." I whispered to reassure her. She looked me up and down skeptically.

"That's what they all say." She countered with a wave of her hand. _What?! What kind of nut jobs did she get around with?!_ I just gave her a 'what the heck look', at her answer. She really was loony. The doorbell rang again, sending the yipping dogs into another frenzy which knocked me out of my thoughts.

"Will you please go stand over there." I suggested in exasperation, gesturing to the adjacent room. _This nut job is driving me crazy!_ She looked at me but didn't move.

"Now?" I urged again. This time she shuffled quickly off to the side.

"And keep the boys and girls in the other room." I added, pointing at the dogs who were wandering around the room. Once they were out of harms way I walked up to the door, gun drawn, and moved the curtains on the window a little so I could see the man standing at the door.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Delivery."

"What kind of delivery?"

"Don't know sir, it just says perishable." _That's really hinky._ I turned to Mrs. Mallard and held up a finger to my lips to shush her before slowly opening the door. The delivery man smiled kindly at me and greeted me with a 'hi'. I put my hand out, indicating him to remain where he was.

"Step back please, step back." I ordered, wanting to get a look at the package. The delivery guy backed up, not seeing the problem, but I did. It was an oil drum…just like what the rest of the meat puzzle bodies had been delivered in.

 **Claire's POV:**

The team came to the Mallard house and were taking pictures of the body pieces that were in the delivered barrel.

"Victim number four Jethro." Ducky indicated, picking up an ear with a pair of large tweezers.

"The size of the pieces, the cuts, are all consistent with the bodies of the DA, the judge, and the foreman." Ducky told the group around the barrel. This group consisted of Palmer, Gibbs, Kate, Ducky and I.

"The homicide detective completes the team." Gibbs commented.

"You're forgetting the medical examiner Jethro. Whose testimony put Vincent Handlin behind bars." Ducky pointed out in mock cheer. I looked over at him with concern as it was obvious he was not taking this well.

"That's you." Palmer pointed out. I struggled not to face palm at how he could be so clueless. _That idiot!_

"Very good Mr. Palmer. He's saving the best for last." Ducky praised in a sarcastically sweet voice.

"That's not gonna happen Ducky." Gibbs sternly told him. Ducky walked into his house without a word.

"Boss?" McGee called. Gibbs looked over and McGee nodded signaling that he found something. Gibbs walked over to him.

"You may load it Mr. Palmer." Ducky told his assistant as they put the lid back on.

"Um….should I…uh….roll it?" Palmer asked, unsure of how to load the barrel into the truck without seeming indelicate to the contents inside.

"Well you could do that, but I think it might be easier if you used the hand trolley." I remarked, gesturing to the trolley that the barrel was already sitting on. _This is not one of his brighter days…_

"Oh…oh…of course. I was so distracted by the contents, I didn't…" Palmer sheepishly explained. Another agent came over and assisted Palmer in getting the trolley down the front stairs.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

McGee was over by the car talking to Gibbs about where the barrel had come from.

"The guy works for an independent delivery service downtown. He picked up the barrel from a new client on 27th street. And that's the address." McGee showed Gibbs the paper that he got from the deliveryman.

"Universal scrap metal." Gibbs read off the name of the company.

"Yes, the owner called it in." McGee explained. Gibbs picked up the clipboard McGee was holding and blinked before holding it out a little farther to see the script on the paper.

"The uh…print is kinda small, even I had trouble reading it…." McGee started, trying to make Gibbs feel better about his eyesight.

"The prints fine McGee." Gibbs cut him off. McGee glanced at him skeptically as he watched his boss continue adjusting the paper.

"Jeffrey…..Winston." Gibbs read off the name after a pause.

"Uh….actually its uh…its Jeffery Wilson. But that's very close boss." McGee pointed out, not wanting to get on his bad side.

"You sure it's Wilson?" Gibbs asked smugly. He handed the clipboard to McGee and watched as the younger agent took a closer look at it.

"Hmm…." McGee mumbled, seeing that Gibbs was right.

 **Claire's POV:**

Kate, Ducky and I were talking on the porch of the house, trying to encourage Ducky who was all bent up about the case revolving around him.

"Gibbs is right. Whoever he is, he's not gonna get you." Kate assured confidently.

"There's only one thing better than looking into the eyes of a beautiful women, and have her say that everything's going to be alright." Ducky commented looking at her thoughtfully. Kate smiled kindly and tilted her head in question.

"And what's that Ducky?" she asked him, amused.

"My saying it to her." Ducky answered with a grin. Kate put a hand on his shoulder and smiled sadly at him before he headed back towards the autopsy van. Gibbs walked up to us, glancing back at Ducky.

"You stick to him like…"

"Glue." Kate cut him off.

"Like an ex-wife after an alimony check." Gibbs corrected. I chuckled and raised an eyebrow. _That's very specific….._

"Gibbs what did Ducky look like when he was younger?" Kate asked out of curiosity. Gibbs turned to look at the man in question as he talked to Palmer.

"Idia Kuriakin." He responded. _Who?..._ Kate gave him a weird look as she obviously didn't know who that was either. I heard Tony loudly laughing in happiness, walking out of the house.

"The sweet smell of freedom." He dramatically moaned, walking up to Gibb all smiley. Kate excused herself and made her to the autopsy van so she could watch Ducky.

"Mrs. Mallard?" Gibbs asked pointing back toward the house.

"Sleeping." Tony answered calmly.

"After her usual afternoon fistful of wild turkey her last words to me were 'I'm going to slit your throat'…..or 'kiss your moat'…..I couldn't tell cause she was slurring." He explained with a grimace. I smirked, this was too much fun to watch Tony suffer. Gibbs chuckled. Gibbs looked at Tony for a moment and nodded.

"That's good work Tony." He told him, patting Tony's shoulder before the two of us walked over to the car where McGee was waiting. Tony nervously chuckled as we walked away.

"Thank you boss, so who's taking over for me now?" he quickly asked, obviously distressed at the thought of staying here. Gibbs paused and turned around to face him.

"Kate's on protection detail with Ducky.."

"Yea?" Tony warily noted.

"McGee is going with me to interview the guy who delivered the barrel." Gibbs added. Tony furrowed his eyebrows.

"Yea…" he lamely said, not understanding who was taking over. Gibbs smiled and turned around to get into the car.

"I guess that leaves you.." Gibbs concluded. Tony blanched.

"Me?! Boss I just spent all day playing furniture mover for this slightly demented old lady and her pack of yapping hounds." Tony frantically argued, pointing wildly back at the house for dramatic effect. He really didn't want to be stuck there again.

"And what about Claire?!" he pointed at me. I looked over at Gibbs expectantly.

"I'm sure I have something better for her to do." Gibbs shrugged. I smirked at Tony and waved while pouting my lip in mock sympathy.

"By the way they're not hounds DiNozzo….they're corgis." Gibbs added, hopping into the driver's seat of the car. McGee and I were watching with amused expressions.

"NO BOSS!" Tony shouted with a panicked lilt to his voice.

"No boss, I'm on the verge man!" he desperately cried, watching the rest of us open the doors and get in the car.

"McGee?!" the car started up.

"Boss?!" Tony called out.

"Claire don't leave me here!" The car pulled out of the driveway.

"I'm gonna go postal!" he called out to no one.

"I'm not kidding I'm this close!" he held up his fingers close together, looking like he was about to cry or have a mental breakdown. _I almost felt bad for him….then I remembered his dirty trick with Stephen and that feeling immediately went away._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The car drove out of sight. He scoffed in despair, then heard a dog bark coming from the house. Looking over he saw about 4 of the little dogs standing in the doorway. It was almost as if they were taunting him in his misery.

"Here's Tony" he angrily ground out. He plastered a crazed smile on his face and walked towards the dogs who started running out of the house. He quickly grabbed two of them by the collars and herded them to the door but when he was halfway there another ran out and he let go of the other two to catch it. This process repeated itself multiple times.

"Who's got treats? In the house." He ordered the dogs. He held two in his arms and kept trying to get the others to come into the house as they walked around barking and wagging their stubby tails at him. He kept baby talking and trying desperately to get them back in the house once again. Finally he got them all in and let out a heavy sigh as he shut the double doors, knowing he was in for another long shift.

Back at the lab Abby was analyzing the burnt remains of 'Vincent Handlin' in his autopsy report to confirm that it really was him. She was rocking back and forth on her heels reading some info off of a paper. Gibbs snuck up behind her and grabber her pigtail, causing her to jump from the surprise contact.

"Gibbs you scared me." She chuckled causing Gibbs to chuckle along with her.

"Come on Abs. You sleep in a casket, dressed in a funeral gown." Gibbs pointed out. Abby looked sideways with an amused expression.

"I don't always wear the gown." She lightly defended.

"To much information..." Gibbs murmured with a frown and walked over to the big screen.

"What do we got here?" he asked. Abby pulled up some stuff on her computer for him to see.

"Getting straight to the point, that's our Gibbs." She mumbled before rattling off the information she had.

"Ok in general, the sicko that's killing everyone that sent Vincent Handlin to jail, is definitely not Vincent Handlin." She told him, and pulled up the dental records on the screen before walking over to stand beside Gibbs.

"Before Ducky went to see his mum, he compared the dental x-rays with those from the Maryland adjustment center." She told explained.

"Vincent Handlin is in the casket." Gibbs summed up.

"Every inch of what is probably very rotting flesh at this point." Abby added in agreement.

"What about DNA testing?" Gibbs asked.

"Maryland incinerates all biological evidence after sentencing." Abby told him.

"Ok…..find an earlier x-ray. Before he went to Fresno." Gibbs suggested. They had to be sure he was dead, because he was their best suspect at the moment.

"Before?" Abby asked as he walked off. He didn't answer.

"Before…" she mumbled to herself and got back to work.

 **Claire's POV:**

Ducky and I arrived at his house and walked up to the door for my evening shift on Ducky watch. He walked in and held the door open for me to enter behind him.

"Mother I'm home!" he called out. I unbuttoned my coat and hung it up as Ducky shut the door behind us.

"Cute dogs." I commented, smiling down at the little corgis that greeted us at the door.

"Not just dogs Claire. Welsh corgis. In Wales, the corgi was the protector of the farmer. And now they protect my mother." Ducky explained, leading me through the living room. One of the dogs walked up to us.

"That's Tyson." Ducky introduced.

"Because he thinks he's a boxer?" I joked.

"No…because he bites." Ducky told me seriously. _Good to know…_ I looked down at the little dog. Once we were out of the main room, Ducky explained to me the rooms of the house and showed me the basics of the main floor.

"The bedrooms are upstairs of course. Mines there, um…..you could use the guest room." He kindly offered.

"I won't be sleeping Ducky." I reminded with a smile.

"Oh…of course." He mumbled. Ducky hung up his hat and I looked around at the beautiful décor that was in the house.

"Where's your mother's room?" I asked.

"She sleeps down here now." He pointed to a side room, and I walked over to peer into the room.

"It must be difficult to get up the stairs at her age." I commented. Ducky chuckled and continued taking off his coat.

"It has nothing to do with stairs Claire. Her snoring is deafening." Ducky corrected. I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought.

"She kept me awake all night. She'll keep you awake too." He told me with a smile. _I can't wait._ Suddenly Ducky heard noises coming from the dining room.

"Hello?" he muttered and walked towards the room with me following behind him. We walked into the room, seeing Mrs. Mallard baby talking to the dog that was in Tony's arms as he blow dried her fur and held a brush in the other hand. He looked up at me miserably. I let out a laugh at the predicament he had found himself in and walked toward the table.

"Oh Tony, you finally found your true calling." I cooed with a fake smile. Tony stood up and gave me a withering look. I grinned up at him before noticing that Mrs. Mallard giving me a dirty glare. _I wonder what that's about?_

"Mother may I present Claire, she works with Tony and me." Ducky walked beside his mother talking loudly. Mrs. Mallard spit at me. I just stood there in shock, not knowing what to do. I can't say I've ever been spat at before.

"Mother!" Ducky scolded.

"We talked about this, Claire is here to protect us." He told his confused mother. Mrs. Mallard kept glaring at me.

"Show me your knickers." She demanded. Smiled at her in disbelief, starting blankly at the old woman. _That's a funny joke I guess?..._

"Um?...ma'am?" I kindly asked with a confused chuckle.

"Your underwear missy. One can always tell a woman's intentions from her panties." Mrs. Mallard informed me. Tony, who was brushing the dog on the table, looked over in amusement.

"That's always been my philosophy." He imputed cheekily. I sent a playful glare back.

"I do apologize…" Ducky told me.

"Come along mother. Time to get dinner ready."" He loudly instructed the old woman, taking her hand as they started walking away slowly.

"Haven't I had dinner?" she asked him.

"No you haven't." he countered. I nervously looked at Tony while they continued on. Tony sent me an ' I know' look. I could already anticipate that this was going to be quite the adventure.

"Well use butter tonight, you always use bacon fat." Mrs. Mallard complained.

"I use canola oil." Ducky corrected.

"I can tell that too!" Mrs. Mallard argued as they walked into the other room, leaving Tony and I alone.

"Sometimes older people can make so much sense." Tony mused, waving around the brush.

"You're relieved Tony." I informed him with a smile.

"Oh god." He leaned his head back and sighed happily. _Gee someone looks relieved to hear that._

"Ok, this is Countessa. She likes it rough…" Tony told me, pointing to the dog on the table in front of him.

"Goodnight Tony." I said, trying to usher him along.

"Yeah look at the time." Tony said looking at his watch. He handed me the blow drier and the hairbrush.

"I gotta meet Stephen for a beer." He commented starting to rush off. I picked up the dog and paused with a wide eyes expression. _Wait a minute… with Stephen?!_ Tony froze in the doorway like he knew it would take me a second to catch that.

"Hate to be late, there's so much to catch up on." He cheekily told me before darting out the door as I threw the hairbrush at him. _Why that little…...I'm going to give him and Stephen an earful…once I get the time._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the office Gibbs was working on his computer when his cell phone rang.

"Yea Gibbs."

"Vincent Handlin's x-rays just arrived from medical school." Abby told him from the autopsy phone. She watched as Jimmy hung up the pictures. Gibbs hung up and turned to Tim who was in the office with him.

"McGee you're with me, come on."

In autopsy Palmer, Abby, Gibbs, and McGee were looking at the dental x-rays up on the board.

"These x-rays were taken at Vincent Handlin's autopsy. And these were eleven years ago in medical school." Palmer pointed out the different sets of x-rays before them.

"Now if you look closely, you can see a perceptible difference due to molar ware. Which is highly unusual given the short span of years in modern man. In Neolithic man, they used to gnaw a lot of bones so it could ensure this kind of…" Palmer dragged on oblivious to the looks Gibbs was giving him.

"Are you telling me these x-rays match?" Gibbs cut him off sharply. Jimmy visibly winced and looked over at Gibbs apologetically.

"I'm afraid so….." he stuttered out.

"The fillings in the upper third molar, and the second bicuspid are identical. As are the shape of the teeth." Palmer pointed out to Gibbs.

"He gnaws on bones like a caveman?" Gibbs asked dryly.

"I…..can't explain that.." Palmer paused, giving Gibbs a bewildered look.

"Well he grinds his teeth boss…" McGee explained. Gibbs looked at him in question.

"I did it as a kid in my sleep, I had to wear a special retainer at night." McGee elaborated.

"You still should." Abby told him with a concerned expression. McGee gave her a blank and almost glaring stare but Abby turned back to the x-rays unfazed.

"I want Vincent Handlin's body exhumed." Gibbs told his team.

"Why?" Jimmy immediately asked. When he was answered with silence, he glanced over seeing Gibbs stare him down.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that sir it just….spewed out." Palmer apologized, obviously intimidated by Gibbs.

"Jimmy call Mt. Ephraim cemetery. McGee you're with me." Gibbs ordered as he walked away with Tim following.

"You dig up that body!" Gibbs pointed at Palmer, leaving no room for arguing. Abby turned toward the morgue tech with a smile.

"Love to." She agreed with a wide grin.

"Doesn't he need a judge's authorization? He didn't even give us a reason why." Palmer asked Abby worriedly.

"Well obviously, Gibbs doesn't think that Handlin is dead." Abby told him patiently.

"He is dead. Dental x-rays don't lie." He argued.

"Well, either Gibbs is wrong. Or Handlin is one of the dead that still walks at night." She suggested in teasing.

"Well Gibbs is wrong." Jimmy determined with a smile. Then his smile dropped as he thought about it more.

"…..is he?" he nervously asked. Abby held up her hands and shrugged.

 **Claire's POV:**

At the Mallard Home, Ducky was in one of the lounges reading a book and across the hall and Mrs. Mallard was snoring away in her bedroom while I was in the parlor, reading a book of my own. Suddenly I heard barking coming from the backyard, breaking up the silence in the house. After it had been going on for a while I decided to get up to check on what the problem was. I walked passed the lounge and glanced over seeing a sleeping Ducky, sitting in the chair with a book in his lap and a half-filled glass of scotch still in his hand. He was alright for now. When I reached to the back door I pulled the curtains back on the door and saw what looked like Mrs. Mallard walking over towards the dog over at the end of the yard. However, it was dark so I couldn't be sure. Pulling out my gun I slowly opened the door andn slowly inched toward the old lady.

"Mrs. Mallard?" I asked. The old lady looked over. Seeing the familiar face I holstered my gun and rushed over to the aging woman.

"Mrs. Mallard…" I sighed as I approached her. The old lady gave me a cheeky grin.

"Sneaking off after having your fun, just as I knew you would." She said pointing at me. I put a hand on her shoulder and shook my head tiredly.

"No, it's not like that Mrs. Mallard." I calmly corrected.

"Now please I need you to take your dog and go back inside." I urged her, wanting to go back so I could keep an eye on Ducky.

"That's not my dog." Mrs. Mallard adamantly told me. _This dementia thing is really annoying._

"Of course it's yours. Now please Mrs. Mallard." I sighed tiredly as I tried to get her back inside. Mrs. Mallard shook her head in denial.

"I've never seen that dog before in my life. I only have corgis" She insisted. Seeing the seriousness of her gaze I actually got a good look at the dog. _Oh no…._ It was just a random mutt. _Ducky?!_

"Back inside now!" I told Mrs. Mallard as I turned to run back inside to Ducky, pulling out my gun once more.

"Ducky?!" I called racing back into the house. There was no answer.

"Ducky?!" I shouted again looking into the room where he just was. Ducky was missing. On the floor below the chair he was occupying was his spilled drink and the book he was reading. I heard a car door shut and looked up seeing the front doors were wide open. I dashed forward and heard the sound of tires squealing, causing me to push myself faster.

"Ducky!" I frantically screamed. When I reached the door I only caught a glimpse of a white van speeding away from the house. I instinctively ran towards the car to follow them, but paused when saw that the tires were slashed, giving me no transportation. I holstered my gun roughly and pulled out my cellphone to call Gibbs. _I can't believe I let Ducky get kidnapped by these killers! This is all my fault._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The next morning the team was back at the bullpen but the normally cheery mood was no present. No one said a word the whole morning as they thought back to their fruitless night of searching for Ducky. Gibbs was sitting at his desk rubbing his chin in thought, worried for his friend. Claire looked over at him from her desk. She was a wreck, being distraught over this whole situation.

"Gibbs I'm sorry." She told him sincerely.

"It's my fault." He dismissed, not wanting her to take all the blame for this. There truly was nothing she could have done.

"Two agents." He mumbled looking down.

"Excuse me?" Kate asked, not quite hearing his mutterings.

"Two protectees, I should have had two agents. You were as responsible for the mother as you were for Ducky." He told Claire. Claire shook her head dejectedly, not willing to just chalk it up to that. Suddenly Tony came running into the office area.

"Boss!" he called jogging over, causing Claire to look up from her moping.

"Abby said the tire tracks from the van were made for Uniroyal loredoes." Tony informed Gibbs with a hopeful look. McGee glanced at his computer, remembering something.

"They're special made for Chevy express cargo vans." Tony elaborated.

"Both the funeral home and the taxidermist own Chevy express cargo vans." McGee pipped up from his desk.

"That's good enough for a search authorization." Gibbs told them. Tony smiled and made his way over to his desk.

"On it boss." He called, eager to go out and help.

"Tony, you and Kate take the turkey stuffing brother." Gibbs directed, grabbing his gun from his desk. Claire grabbed her gun too, itching to make up for her mistakes and find Ducky before it was too late.

"McGee, Claire come on you're with me." Gibbs told them as they all swiftly made their way to the elevator.

 **Claire's POV:**

At the funeral home, Mr. Handlin was setting up flowers on top of a coffin while Mrs. Handlin walked in reading over the search papers as we all followed in behind her. She was not happy.

"You have no right to invade my home and my business." She coldly spat at McGee and I as Gibbs directed the other officers in the search of the funeral home.

"Actually that search warrant says we do ma'am." I politely countered, trying to hide my satisfaction.

"Don't ma'am me you simpering wimp" she hissed. I narrowed my eyes at her but didn't retaliate.

"No ma'am." I told her out of spite as she walked away. She stormed over to Gibbs who was looking at a set of doors leading to another room.

"Unlock this door." He instructed. Mrs. Handlin slowly pulled the keys out of her pocket but stood in front of the doors facing the agents defiantly. McGee and I walked over to them, ready to back Gibbs up if he needed it. Mrs. Handlin stared at Gibbs who stared right back at her.

"Ma'am if you impede our search in any way, you will be charged with obstruction." McGee informed when neither seemed to be moving. Gibbs glanced back at him.

"That's not the way to do this." He corrected. McGee curiously watched him and I raised an eyebrow. _This should be good. Gibbs is about as fed up with her as I am right now._ Gibbs took a threatening step toward Mrs. Handlin and leaned down to be eye level with her.

"I have a right to break down that door…..and anything in my way." He informed her in a deadly calm manner. _I was tempted to hold her in his way just so I could see that. But I need to be professional at least some of the time._ They stared at each other for a few more seconds before she grudgingly opened the door. Gibbs and McGee shinnied their flashlights into the storage units of the room, hoping to find Ducky hidden in one as they looked like the ones down in our autopsy.

"Are you satisfied?" she asked snidely.

"Nope." Gibbs responded, not even looking at her. She shook her head in annoyance.

"McGee….take a scraping from inside." Gibbs instructed and McGee walked up to get closer to the walls of the storage. Gibbs walked back over to the nasty woman.

"One son beats a woman to death, the other plays with dead animals. I wonder where they get that." He commented looking her in the eye.

"From their mother." She sneered at him, not batting an eyelash. _This woman was just messed up._

Since we didn't find anything in the back room the other agents had started unscrewing the caskets to look inside those.

"It's heavier, definitely something in this one." McGee informed Gibbs.

"It's Mr. Goldberg." Mrs. Handlin explained, crossing her arms.

"He's being buried in the morning." She deadpanned. McGee carefully opened it up and saw a man lying in the casket. He sighed in relief….it wasn't Ducky. Gibbs and I leaned over and looked inside too.

"Check underneath Mr. Goldberg." Gibbs instructed. McGee and I looked at Gibbs incredulously, to see if he was joking. He just looked back at us expectantly. He was dead serious. McGee and I looked at each other for a moment, silently hoping the other would volunteer. _I didn't want to stick my hands around some dead guy._ Seeing that we were getting nowhere, I took a coin out of my pocket and flipped it. McGee called heads as it was in the air. When I caught it and looked down and saw that is was tails, meaning that I won. _YES! McGee gets to do the dirty work this time._ McGee closed his eyes and sighed before starting the awkward task. He lifted the other half and started feeling around the cushions by Mr. Goldberg's feet. He ran his arms along the sides of the casket seams, looking for openings. Mrs. Handlin rolled her eyes. When McGee reached the man's head he closed his eyes and leaned over the dead man's face. I watched in discomfort as his chin was basically touching the top of the man's head. McGee glanced down, trying to avoid it and continued working with a grimace.

"It's nothing." McGee told Gibbs once he had finished. He quickly retreated from the coffin, obviously glad to be done with the search.

"I'll inform the Goldbergs that their grandfather was frisked by NCIS in his coffin." Mrs. Handlin snarkily told us. She looked over at Gibbs with a smirk as he glared back at her. We all knew was directly connected to all of this, and now we just had to prove it.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

A tow truck came by and picked up the funeral home's van to be taken back and searched back at NCIS. McGee came back inside once it was towed away.

"Boss, the van is on the way to the garage for forensics." He informed Gibbs. The rest of the officers were leaving, since they didn't find anything, leaving the three agents with the Handlins at the funeral home.

"What next?" McGee inquired.

"Why don't you just admit that you made a mistake, and get the hell out of here." Mrs. Handlin imputed, shoving the search warrant into Gibb's chest. His phone rang and he smirked at her. Gibbs answered and took a few steps to the side without taking the paper. She dropped her hand and glared at him.

"No luck boss, we looked under every furry creature…and inside a couple. Ducky's not here. " Tony told Gibbs from the taxidermist. The brother was nervously standing by Kate with his arms crossed. Gibbs chuckled as he thought of a plan.

"Yeah I knew you'd find something, that's good work Tony." Gibbs praised with a smile. Mrs. Handlin sneered at him and Mr. Handlin watched at him curiously as they eavesdropped on his half of the conversation.

"You bring him in for interrogation." Gibbs ordered Tony, while staring at the parents.

"Uh…did…did you hear what I said boss?" Tony asked him in confusion.

"Yeah! Yeah I heard you." Gibbs said with another chuckle and hung up. Tony hung up the phone with a confused look on his face. What was Gibbs plan?

"Let's go McGee, Conners." He nodded towards the door.

"What did they find?" McGee quickly asked. Gibbs walked out the doors and the two agents followed, not getting an answer in front of the parents. Once the agents left Mr. Handlin turned towards his wife.

"Jonathan called, they're searching his shop too." He anxiously told her.

"What do they think? He stuffed their precious doctor?" she snippily asked.

"Mary….we should do something to prevent…"

"Fred, Fred." She shushed him.

"Don't start thinking now, you're far too old for that." She quipped as she walked out of the room. He watched her with a nervous expression.

 **Claire's POV:**

So Gibbs finally let me join in on an interrogation. I was super pumped, but tried to keep it cool because you know….Ducky's life was kinda on the line and I was determined to help get him back. In interrogation, I watched as Jonathan nervously pulled at his fingers. He knew more than he had let on, and it was eating him up inside. Our job was to find out what it was.

"I already told you." He insisted, looking at us pleadingly.

"Tell me again." Gibbs told him while walking around behind him. I was standing beside the table, waiting for the right time to put my input in.

"We crashed into a tree." Jonathan explained.

"Vincent was driving?"

"Yes." Jonathan answered, looking straight ahead at the mirror in the room.

"You jumped out of the car?" Gibbs continued.

"Right…" Jonathan glanced at Gibbs from the corner of his eye.

"You didn't even attempt to help your brother?" I asked. I inwardly smiled at the way his jaw clenched. We were starting to chip away at his blank mask.

"The car was on fire; I was in a daze." Jonathan answered calmly.

"But you didn't even try..." Gibbs countered.

"It was too hot!" Jonathan exclaimed, starting to crack a little bit. Gibbs paused and looked at him.

"There was no way I could get to him." Jonathan calmly continued, going back to his previous demeanor.

"You know, if my brother was in a burning car, dazed or not I would do everything in my power to get him out of there. No matter what it cost me. It's a natural reaction. So why is it that you didn't even try?" I asked, letting him stew a little more. His story didn't match up for me. Gibbs started pacing behind him again, before sitting beside him on the table.

"What did your mother think about that?" he whispered.

"I wouldn't know…..we don't talk." Jonathan mumbled, wringing his hands under the table.

"We haven't spoken since that night." He said turning his gaze towards Gibbs.

"Yeah? Why is that?" Gibbs asked slowly.

"He was her favorite" he answered.

"She blames you for his death." I commented. Jonathan didn't answer but looked straight ahead once more. Gibbs walked around to his other side and leaned in close to his ear.

"If my friend dies….I'll blame you too." Gibbs whispered menacingly. Jonathan tightly grasped his hands together under the table.

"Gibbs, Jimmy Palmer and Abby need to see you." Kate called over the intercom. Gibbs and I walked back to the observation room.

"I pulled on of Vincent Handlin's teeth and gave it to Abby." Palmer began.

"We did a blood analysis of the nerve tissue, and compared it to the blood type of the tissue from the corpse." Abby continued. They paused and smiled at each other in a creepy manor.

"It didn't match." They said in unison. Gibbs just stared at them blankly.

"These are Vincent Handlin's teeth, but they were put into this jaw. This body is not Vincent Handlin." Palmer elaborated.

"I did a gas chromatograph and I found traces of cyanate accolade…."Abby started but Gibbs cut her off.

"In the language I speak Abby." He corrected.

"There is superglue on the root of the tooth." She simplified.

"Just a drop. It would never show up on an x-ray." Jimmy added.

"So the teeth were pulled from Vincent's mouth?" Kate asked in disgust. _I agree…..ouch! And to put it in another skull? Gross! This family just kept getting creepier by the minute._

"One by one. And then they were glued back into this jaw." Jimmy told her seriously. We all looked back at Jonathan who was spacing out in the interrogation room. For this round Gibbs went in alone, I didn't want to be on his bad side right now.

Gibbs harshly set the skull down on the table in front of Jonathan.

"Homo sapien." Gibbs spat, then proceeded to dump out the teeth onto the table in front of him.

"Reconstruction category." Gibbs continued, making a jab at Jonathan's weird taxidermy placements.

"Someone took your brother's teeth and put them in that skull." Gibbs fumed. Jonathan nervously started fiddling with one of the teeth in front of him.

"It wasn't me." He told Gibbs, who continued staring the man down. Seeing the teeth had been the breaking point, so Jonathan was just starting to spill his guts.

"It was them. It was always them." Jonathan added starting to tear up.

"Your mother and Vincent?" Gibbs asked. Jonathan nodded, holding back a sob. He looked up at Gibbs.

"Vincent was drunk the night he slammed into that tree. We got out just before it burst into flames. When we got home, mother had a car crash body laying out on the embalming table." Jonathan told him, holding back another sob. He ran his hand over his forehead in distress.

"Closed casket job. She came up with the idea of giving Vincent a new life." He composed himself and looked up at Gibbs.

"He's got to be telling the truth." Tony commented from the observation room.

"Why?" Kate asked looking at him.

"Who would make that up?" Tony asked, not looking away from the two in the room. _He's got a point._ We continued watching

"After she extracted Vincent's teeth and put them in the car crash body…..she burnt the corpse beyond recognition." Jonathan explained.

"Where's Vincent?" Gibbs asked leaning on his hands. Jonathan started crying and picking up the teeth.

"With mother. He's always with mother." He blubbered.

"We already searched the funeral home." Gibbs countered.

"Look harder." Jonathan argued.

"Is Doctor Mallard there?" Gibbs continued.

"Probably." Jonathan mumbled.

"They don't keep you informed?!" Gibbs asked him. Jonathan stared him in the eyes.

"They have lots of secrets. Terrible secrets with each other." Jonathan whispered hauntedly. He looked down and continued gathering the teeth. Gibbs leaned forward and handed Jonathan his cell phone.

"You call your mother, Jonathan. You tell her we've released you. You tell her that everything is ok now. That we have run into a dead end. You convince her Jonathan. If you don't I will tear every tooth out of your skull." Gibbs growled at the trembling brother.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In the funeral home late that night a man in black opened up a secret room behind the bookshelf in the viewing area. Inside the room was a large safe. He opened it up to reveal a bound and gagged Doctor Mallard.

Waiting across the street from the funeral home, the team watched as the light came on inside.

"We got a light." Gibbs spoke into the headset. Kate was beside him and Tony was with McGee and Claire on the other side of the building.

"Let's go." Tony said, pulling out his gun.

"Wait"

"For what?" Tony asked confused.

"Let them get Ducky out of wherever they've been hiding him." Gibbs explained. They waited a few minutes more.

"Now?"

"Not yet." Gibbs countered. They watched anxiously as another room was lit up.

"Ok get into positions." Gibbs ordered and started making his way to the building, gun raised.

Inside Ducky was strapped down to a table and still had duct tape over his mouth. He watched in terror as Vincent Handlin stood over him.

"It'll only take four minutes to drain your blood." He informed the doctor with a slight British accent. He handed his mother, who was on the other side of the table, a tube to siphon out Ducky's blood.

"Versus 8 years, in the same cell, 24 hours a day." Vincent continued, leaning down over the doctor.

"He's getting off easy angel." His mother whispered to him as she prepared the tube. He lovingly smiled over at his mother as she stuck the needle into Ducky's neck. Ducky whimpered in pain. Vincent smiled menacingly as he watched the blood drain from Ducky's neck into the grooves and the sink on the edges of the table.

Tony kicked open the doors to the funeral home and the team rushed in with their guns raised. They started searching for the room where Ducky was. They threw open another set of doors and saw Mr. Handlin standing outside of a room. He turned to look at them sadly. Gibbs rushed up beside him.

"Where are they?" he harshly whispered. Mr. Handlin licked his lips nervously and looked at the room to his right. The agents made their way over as McGee frisked him for any weapons. The agents got into position.

Mrs. Handlin reached over and caressed her son's face fondly as Ducky lay moaning on the table. Only a few minutes left until he was head. The door burst open and the agents came inside with their guns pointed at the two.

"Get back!" Gibbs shouted at them. Ducky started shouting, although it was muffled. In the chaos Vincent stealthily grabbed a scalpel off of the table beside him.

"Move back or your dead." Gibbs warned them. Vincent stared at them wide eyed but backed away slowly. Ducky was still making lots of noise as his blood continued to run out. Claire maneuvered her way over to Ducky while the others backed her up.

"Claire?" Gibbs gave her the ok. She quickly put away her gun and tore the tape off of Ducky's mouth.

"My hands, release my hands." Ducky muttered. Claire hastily undid the restraints. Ducky quickly held his hands to his neck to try and take the tube out.

"Give me something to stop the bleeding." He ordered. She looked around and handed him a towel. The Handlins were watching with wide eyes and didn't move since the agents were aiming at them. Ducky took the needle out and stopped the bleeding with the towel.

"Hands in the air!" Kate ordered the two at the back of the room once Ducky was taken care of.

"I can't go back..." Vincent muttered. His mother looked over at him calmly.

"Just do what they say Vincent." She softly told her son.

"Turn around and face the wall." Gibbs ordered. Vincent looked terrified as he looked over at his mother.

"Just do it." She sternly told him. She turned around but Vincent still didn't move.

"I love you mother but I can't do this again." He brokenly explained. She looked over as he sliced his throat with the scalpel.

"NO!" she screeched and reached for him as he collapsed and bled out onto the floor. The agents put away their guns and rushed over to take care of the situation. Gibbs ran to Ducky and helped him put pressure on his neck wound while Tony and Kate went over and restrained the mother as she kept crying and shouting 'they killed my son!'. Mrs. Handlin sobbed as she was dragged away. Ducky looked over at the dead Vincent.

"You're the one that got off easy my boy." He mused. Gibbs patted his shoulder in comfort, prompting Ducky to glance back at him.

"What kept you?" he jokingly asked. Gibbs looked at his friend and chuckled.

Back at the bullpen Gibbs walked back to his desk after his interrogation of Mrs. Handlin.

"The mother finally give a statement?" Tony asked his boss.

"Yeah a short one, two words." Gibbs answered. Tony glanced away, already guessing the list of things she probably spewed at him. In doing so he caught sight of Claire, who was getting ready to leave. Tony tilted his head and smiled at her.

"So you seeing my frat bro tonight?" he asked. She looked up and sighed, but plastered on a smile.

"As a matter of fact I am." She answered. Tony grinned and shook his head.

"Stephen feels bad and said he'd like to make it up to me." She explained.

"How's he gonna do that?" he smirked. Claire narrowed her eyes teasingly and smiled.

"By telling me things about you." She told him.

"Never gonna happen, the fraternal oath is sacred." Tony insisted looking at his computer. She walked over and leaned down to his level.

"Some things are even more sacred Tony." She cheekily whispered. He jerked his head up and stared at her, unable to form words as his eyes widened. He remained frozen with his mouth open as she walked to the elevators. _She was going to?...And they would?...and he was gonna?..._

Tony shot up and went to look out the giant windows that lined the walls by his desk. He watched as Claire and Stephen walked arm in arm to his car in the parking lot. As he watched Tony felt some unknown emotion erupt in the pit of his stomach. It was unnerving for him as he couldn't place the emotion. He had been around loads of girls in his time but something about seeing Claire with another man, made his gut do flips and not in a pleasant way. It was new for him. As he pondered it, his face gave away all the signs of his displeasure at Claire's choice of company. It's not that he didn't like Stephen…..it just that something didn't feel right about it.

"What's with the face Tony?" Kate asked watching him scowl out the window.

"What face?" Tony turned to her, now fully confused.

"If looks could kill your frat buddy would be dead 10 times over". Tony just stared at her like he had no clue what she was talking about.

"You know she's right Tony" McGee chimed in thoughtfully.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you're jealous." He finished with a knowing smirk. Tony's eyes went wide.

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about "He nervously laughed, shaking off the idea. Tony DiNozzo? Jealous?

"Why would I be jealous?" Kate and Tim shared a knowing glance across the bullpen.

"Why indeed?" Kate mused, mainly to herself. Tony just looked to where his best friend had just walked off. Was he jealous?


	14. Chapter 14

[Caught on Tape 1]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Kate was sitting at her desk talking to a friend on her work phone, her back facing the main desk area.

"He did that? You're kidding." She playfully scoffed.

"Well I wouldn't put it in my romantic column Debb. I mean it's definitely kinky…..maybe affectionately odd but…..I don't find anything romantic about having sex with….." She spun her chair around and stopped midsentence. Tony was kneeling by her desk, practically hugging her lamp with wide eyes, clinging to her every word. Claire was standing behind him with a raised brow and smirk on her face. Kate stared at them as they creeped her out standing there silently. She gave them disgruntled a look before speaking again.

"I'll call you back later." She told her friend and quickly hung up the phone.

"Sex with a what?" Tony immediately asked still staring in anticipation.

"None of your business." She countered with a scowl.

"With another woman?" he continued as he stood up, remaining in front of her desk.

"The fact that you're desperate to…."

"Another man?" he cut Kate off, trying to guess the secret. She let out an irritated sigh and leaned her head back in annoyance.

"I told you….."

"Some kind of root vegetable?" he cut her off again. Kate gave him a glare.

"That's just disgusting" Claire argued, grimacing at him. Tony glanced over and gave Claire a childish grin as Kate stood up.

"Well it wasn't me having a phone call about kinky sex." He countered looking pointedly back at Kate. She turned from her filing to look at him, her hands planted on her hips.

"That was a private conversation Tony. Something you two seem to be having a difficult time with." She sneered looking between the two of them.

"If I was having that conversation you would accuse me of being a Neanderthal." He said, lowering his voice on the last word for emphasis. Claire giggled because it was very true.

"Well that doesn't require having a conversation Tony." she teased. Tony shot her an unamused glance and simply brushed off the comment, because he couldn't exactly refute it.

"You know what I think Kate?" he began instead. Kate tilted her head to the side, silently urging him to go on.

"I think there's a secret side to you. A Spike Steel video kind of side." He huskily whispered while she hummed along in fake acknowledgement.

"Keep it hidden under your mattress?" he asked cheekily.

"Leave. Now." Kate ordered leaning forward with a glare. Claire scoffed and stared at her with wide eyes.

"Defensive are we?" she teased. Kate turned to stare at her coldly.

"You too." Claire just laughed and made her way over to her own desk as Tony chuckled in surprise at her 'commanding' attitude. He looked up and spotted McGee scurrying towards them. As he passed Tony patted him on the back.

"You're a Spike Steel fan aren't you Probie?" Tony asked casually.

"What the porn star?" McGee asked without hesitation. Tony walked back to his desk and looked at McGee dryly.

"No, the physicist." Tony countered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Um no, not really. He looks kinda sleazy." McGee answered while dropping his coat and bag behind his desk. Kate laughed.

"Actually he looks a little bit like Tony." She joked, sending him a triumphant look at her supposed dig. Tony's eyebrows raised challengingly as he slowly sat down.

"Oh you have no idea how much he looks like…." He paused when a thought came to his head. Claire from across the bullpen seemed to have the same thought.

"Kate? How do you know what he looks like?" she inquired 'innocently'. Kate's expression immediately dropped and she struggled for words, but quickly regained her composure.

"I saw him on the news when he was arrested a few years ago." She told them evasively and looked down at her computer. Tony immediately looked up the information.

"Really?" he mused, while typing the man's name to the database.

"Spike's real name is Jay McMann, and according to the database he's never been arrested….Ever" Tony shot back at Kate. He gave her a 'try again' look. Kate didn't make eye contact with Tony or Claire. The two of them made eye contact and snickered, knowing they had caught her and Kate wasn't going to own up to it. Before anyone else could comment Gibbs walked into the bullpen.

"What are you waiting for DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Uhh…" Tony looked at his boss wide eyed, completely lost as to what he was supposedly waiting for.

"Gas the truck." Gibbs ordered.

"I knew that." Tony answered pointing at Gibbs.

"McGee get Ducky." Gibbs ordered while pulling out his gun from the desk.

"Um what am I telling him boss?" McGee asked in confusion as he dialed autopsy.

"We have a dead marine in Shenandoah River State Park." Gibbs explained. The agents all looked at each other while grabbing their gear.

"Come on. Let's go." Gibbs told his team and they all walked to the elevator.

At the park, there was a man lying at the base of a large rock overhang where he supposedly fell from. The terrain around the area was rocky with patches of shrubbery and a creek a few feet away. His face, fingers, and torso had been chewed on from a couple days of being outside. Gibbs was atop of the giant rock formation with a state park ranger as he got a handle on the situation.

"Sergeant William Moore. I got a phone call from his wife." They looked back at the two other park rangers who were getting a statement from the wife and a man who had his arm around her in comfort.

"That's Sergeant Roger Caine. They were all camping together." The lead ranger informed Gibbs, indicating the man that was being interviewed alongside Mrs. Moore.

"They were going to hike this trail, and Sergeant Moore went early to film the sunrise. When they couldn't find him, they called us." The two of them leaned down and looked at the dead sergeant down below them.

"In the morning its really slippery up here. The sergeant lost his traction and slipped." The trooper told Gibbs, fully believing that was the case. However Gibbs wasn't so convinced.

"Are you a trained investigator? Ranger Kent." Gibbs asked the man, glancing at his nametag.

"Been working this park for five years agent Gibbs. It's as treacherous as it comes up here. I've seen a lot of hikers go over." Ranger Kent informed, not offended by Gibb's patronizing attitude. Gibbs looked over at the ranger seriously.

"The hiker was a marine." He pointed out.

"Well this marine slipped and fell to his death." Ranger Kent countered.

"You said he was filming." Gibbs changed the subject.

"That's what his wife said. No sign of the camera" The ranger answered.

"Me and my team can take it from here." Gibbs told him dismissively, wanting to start his own investigation

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony, Kate, and I were trekking through the forest on our way to the crime scene on the Cliffside at the top of the hill.

"I wonder what happened to McGee." Kate commented, noticing that he was still a distance behind us.

"Probably off to the side of the trail sucking his thumb." Tony answered as I laughed. I felt slightly bad but I couldn't help it.

"He joined a gym you know." Kate told Tony in halfhearted defense of her teammate. We all knew she thought his comment was funny too.

"Is that so?" Tony asked unimpressed.

"Wait up!" we heard a shout from behind us. The three of us turned and saw that McGee was lugging along multiple bags, huffing as he tried to catch up with us.

"He should get his money back." Tony quickly whispered to me before acknowledging McGee who had joined in now. I smirked.

"Where the hell ya been?" Tony sternly demanded, glancing back at him. I gave him a side glance at his sudden sternness.

"Ducky needed some help with his gear, how much further is it?" McGee asked slightly out of breath. He was speed walking to keep up with us while carrying at least four boxes of Ducky's things. At least that's what I assumed they were.

"It's about a quarter of a mile." Kate told him.

"Uphill." Tony added, giving McGee a look. Tim glared at us and started speeding up to the crime scene, leaving us behind with a huff.

"Stamina Probie, it's very important in our profession." Tony called after the pouting agent. I smacked him as we both snickered at McGee's expense. I know it was childish but sometimes this hazing was kinda fun.

"As it is in Spike Steel's profession." Tony lowered his voice so only Kate and I could hear the joke. I snorted at the innuendo.

"You relate to him don't you Tony?" Kate asked teasingly.

"Oh, we have a lot in common." Tony immediately agreed. I rolled my eyes. _OH brother….._

"Stamina?" Kate asked dryly. Tony tilted his head and smacked his lips before twisting them into a smirk.

"For one." He cockily answered. I tried not to think about it….but that was kinda hot. _No stop it! That's gross, why are you thinking this. Redirect the conversation before this gets out of hand._

"That's not what she told me…" I countered while speeding up to walk alongside Kate. Tony stopped in his tracks. He knows full well that I have met quite a few of his flings and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make him squirm a little.

"She who?...Who told you what?!" I didn't answer him and shared a look with Kate and we giggled to ourselves listening to the nervousness in his voice.

"Claire?! You better answer me! She's lying….. Claire?... This isn't funny!" he continued calling behind us. I smirked to myself. The male ego was so fragile.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Palmer was examining the body while Ducky stood a little ways off, looking around at the scenery.

"What are your preliminary findings Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked, watching the young man work.

"Lacerations, bruises, contusions….consistent with a fall of his kind." Palmer answered. Kate was taking notes and sketching the crime scene. Tony, Claire and McGee were walking around and looking for any evidence nearby.

"And?" Ducky prodded his assistant.

"And uh…..I would imagine that the victim has sustained fractures of several limbs." Palmer concluded.

"Cause of death?" Ducky asked, making his way down towards Palmer.

"Well impossible to say until we get him back but uh…..from the looks of this head wound, I would say that he probably struck a rock." Palmer answered while pointing out the head wound.

"What was the cause of death?" Ducky pressed. Palmer swallowed and looked up at his mentor.

"Shock." He decided.

"That would be my supposition also." Ducky agreed with Mr. Palmer, who beamed up at him. He was glad that he was making the right conclusions by himself and that Doctor Mallard was praising him.

"What I don't get is the flesh trauma. What kind of wounds are these, doctor?" Palmer asked as he looked up at Ducky questioningly.

"They're coyote. They eat the exposed tissue first." Ducky explained. Palmer thought for a moment before speaking up again.

"What's second?" he warily asked.

"If what I suspect is true. Yes, the abdominal cavity has been strewn open." Ducky pulled back the sergeant's shirt to show his assistant. Palmer paled a bit as he tried not to be grossed out by the sight.

"The liver and kidney are a rich source of nutrients." Ducky elaborated, oblivious to how his assistant was feeling.

"That's uh…..gross doctor." Palmer told his mentor honestly. Ducky looked up surprised and somewhat amused.

"Actually Mr. Palmer we are quite lucky. In some cases they chew off the head and carry it away." He chuckled.

"So they won't have to fight other coyotes for it." He added. This time Jimmy smiled at Ducky's amusement.

"My cornier friend in Los Angeles says coyotes take it to go." He chuckled. Palmer watched him silently as Ducky continued getting lost in his own story.

"They're very strange in Los Angeles." Ducky mused before standing back up from his crouching position.

Gibbs stood up from his crouching position over by the Cliffside near the creek.

"Anything unusual Duck?" he called.

"No not really Jethro. But I'll know more when I get our marine back on the table." Ducky told him.

"Boss?" McGee called up from where he was standing next to the creek.

"Found the camcorder!" McGee shouted up. He took pictures of it sitting on the rock in the water before picking it up.

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs and I were off to the side, talking with Sergeant Moore's wife and friend.

"He was obsessed with the stupid camera. I gave it to him on his birthday. Maybe if I hadn't have given it to him he wouldn't have slipped. " The wife told us, obviously upset.

"Anyone else at this campsite while you were here?" Gibbs asked.

"No sir, just a drunk. He was nothing to worry about. He was in a trailer over there." The Roger pointed over in the general direction of where the trailer once was.

"Scruffy guy, drunk, was loud. We went over and asked him to keep it down." Gibbs and I looked over to the now empty space.

"He didn't keep it down?" Gibbs inquired, turning back to them.

"No sir. We went over there, tried to reason with him. That when he took a swing." Roger explained.

"You took a swing at him." I corrected. He seemed like someone who was a bit high strung, especially when he was with his best friend. He looked back at me.

"No ma'am." He sincerely told me.

"I put him in a headlock and he calmed down. And then he just drove off." He clarified and looked up to Gibbs.

"Does he have a license number?" Gibbs asked.

"No point sir, the guy was harmless." He assured. That's not helpful at all. This job has taught me that it's not always who you think.

"Bill spends eight months in Iraq and dies filming a sunrise in Virginia." The wife mused sorrowfully. Sometimes life was cruel like that.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at headquarters, the elevator doors opened and Gibbs and Abby stepped out, making their way towards her lab.

"That's not the way this works Gibbs. This has been in water for hours. You don't just slap a little four-o- nine on the tape and go." Abby explained while holding the camcorder in an evidence bag.

"Tape?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, it's a digital video tape." Abby explained walking over to her desk in the other room.

"I thought everything was a chip these days?" Gibbs asked in confusion.

"No, they're kinda mixing the old with the new. You know how like hip hop artists will refer back to old school rappers like Sugar Hell Game?" Abby rambled while setting the camera on a separate lab station across from her desk area.

"How long?" Gibbs asked watching her pick at the electronics on the table.

"I have to separate the cartridge, I have to submerge the wheels in a cleaning solution, cause the heads up against it, I have thread the silt…." Abby explained while pulling on some rubber gloves and inspecting the camera.

"How long Abby?" Gibbs cut her off. Abby looked at him and fiddled with her glove.

"Um…..3 maybe 4 hours?" she sheepishly answered, knowing he wouldn't like that. Gibbs gave her a 'really?' look. Abby stared back at him without changing her answer.

"Let me know when you get it." He told her and walked out of the office.

"Hey Gibbs!" Abby called. He stopped and looked at her through the large window on the wall.

"Do you have a camcorder?" Abby asked him curiously. He gave her a bewildered look and walked back into the office area.

"Yea….digital ok?" he told her. She smiled.

"Good Gibbs! Way to go." she praised. He rolled his eyes and tried walking out again. Key word….tried.

"Did you make the jump to CD's yet?" she called after him again. He turned and gave her a look.

"Cause it's cool if you didn't. All the hot DJ's, they use vinyl these days anyway." She informed with a nod of her head. He blinked and turned his head away.

"Just get it to me." He reminded. Before he could fully make it out of her office she called him again.

"Hey Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs?" she chanted excitedly. He turned and looked at her again.

"Peace out man." She said while thumping her chest and giving him a 'peace' sign, smiling childishly at him the whole time. Gibbs turned around without an answer and walked out of the lab. Sometimes it was better to just let Abby go instead of question her random train of thoughts.

The next day Abby analyzed the fragment that came from Sergeant Moore's head. As promised, once she was done she brought Gibbs down to tell him about it. When he entered, he walked over to look at whatever she had under the microscope.

"Northern white ash. These trees are not indigenous to this area. And even if they were, do you know any who have kiln dried wood? With a lacquer coating?" Abby asked turning to Gibbs who was looking in the microscope on her computer desk.

"Lacquer?" Gibbs inquired dryly.

"Yup, clear coat." Abby clarified. Gibbs looked up and at the big screen in front of them, that was displaying the microscope slide also.

"Baseball bat." He concluded. Abby imitated a baseball swing and swung around standing next to Gibbs who had walked closer to the screen.

"Bats are made of maple or ash. Ash is more popular, but it tends to splinter more easily." Abby told him.

"Especially when they come in contact with somebody's skull." Gibbs mused.

"Somebody did a Barry Bonds on Sergeant Moore's head, Gibbs." Abby concluded.

 **Claire's POV:**

Up in the bullpen, we had pulled up the sergeant's file to find any leads. The four of us were standing in front of the screen while Kate read off his file.

"Sergeant William Moore transferred from Camp Lushun to Quantico a two months ago. He was serving as an E.I. for newly commissioned marine officers." She read off.

"E.I.?" McGee asked.

"Enlisted Instructor, Probie." Tony answered from between Kate and I.

"Um what did he teach Kate?" I asked trying to prevent a childish spat that was bound to happen between them. Especially now that Tony was babying him today. It was just the next round of his hazing. Yesterday it was teasing, today its making him feel stupid.

"Well according to his records, um….M.O.U.N.T." she told us.

"M.O.U.N.T. stands for military operations….."

"Yes, I know what it stands for Tony." McGee cut him off sharply.

"Excuse me for trying to help _Jr. Agents._ " Tony dramatically exclaimed, while turning to face McGee. I was awkwardly standing in the middle and they were looking at each other over my head since I was a couple inches shorter than them. McGee raised his eyebrows before turning to look at Tony.

"Trust me, when I need help you'll be the first person I ask…where Gibbs, Claire or Kate are." He sassily retorted. I bit my lip to resist laughing at his comment. Tony barked out a fake laugh and abruptly glared at Tim.

"Are you done?" I asked from between the two of them, staring forward to avoid eye contact.

"For the moment." Tony replied and turned back to the screen. _Such a child._ Kate clicked on the remote to change the slide.

"These are the last to people to have seen our sergeant alive." She pulled up their pictures.

"His best friend, and his wife." Kate finished. Tony brought his arm up and slapped McGee on the back of the head, effectively catching his elbow against the back of my head. McGee and I flinched and faced Tony, who didn't meet our unhappy gazes.

"Hey!" McGee exclaimed. Tony looked to me passively.

"Now I'm done. Continue." Tony said turning back to Kate after answering my earlier question. Kate looked to the three of us.

"Do you think that one or both of them could have murdered the sergeant?" she asked. We tilted our heads thoughtfully.

"Well…..it is kinda weird seeing a married guy hang out with a married couple." Tony pointed out.

"I agree." McGee added with a nod.

"Me too." I agreed. It was odd for single people to hang with married couples without a date. Kate looked at the screen before turning her head to look at us again in confusion.

"Why is that?" she asked. The three of us turned to face her. _She was joking right?..._

"Well because he's a single guy….hanging out with married people…" Tony explained slower and looked at her like she was an idiot.

"I do that all the time." Kate said with a shrug, not understanding the problem.

"But you bring a date….right?" I asked. _I do that, but only when I have a date._

"Not always." She answered.

"Are you related to them?" McGee asked tentatively. Kate stared at our matching facial expressions of suspicion.

"No" she shook her head. Tony looked back at McGee and I with wide eyes. McGee raised his brow and I grimaced in understanding. The two of them faced forward again. _She doesn't get that they just want to sleep with her. Poor innocent, trusting Kate._

"What?" Kate asked with an eye roll at our silent conversation.

"Well who usually invites you?" Tony asked her.

"The man or the woman?" I added. Sometimes it was weird how we could finish sentences. Kate thought about it for a moment.

"I don't know…I guess….usually the guy." She answered and looked back down at the file evasively. Tony slowly let a mischievous smile slip onto his face. _Don't laugh, Don't laugh…._ He looked back to McGee who let out a knowing snort looking away. I coughed trying not to burst. I'm sure the three of us looked silly trying not to laugh out loud at how naive she was. Kate licked her lips in agitation.

"Ok, a lot of my friends are from the Secret Service. Most of them happen to be men." She explained, trying to justify her situation. _A lot of my guy friends I did deep cover with, and I know not to accept dinner offers from the married ones unless their wife asks me._

"What about your uh…..your girlfriend who called yesterday morning." I casually asked, trying to save her. Kate thought for a moment.

"Deb is married to one of my buddies…..Rick." she quickly answered. The two boys snickered, and I soon followed. The three of us were practically falling over on each other trying to hold in our laughter. Kate fully turned toward us.

"Ok so what you're trying to say is that all my married, male friends secretly want to sleep with me." She asked with a fake smile. _Well…..yeah!_

"Pretty much yeah." Tony answered with a small waver to his voice, trying not to absolutely lose it. He couldn't hold it in any longer and the three of us started snickering together again.

"That's very mature Tony. And for your information, men and women can just be friends. Right McGee?" she asked hoping he would be mature. _She would go to McGee first. Once me and Tony get started we can't be stopped._

"Technically…" McGee trailed off. Kate gave him a surprised look.

"What do you mean…..technically?" she asked with a nervous laugh.

"He means you'd have to be pretty ugly at first." I giggled which sent McGee and Tony into another small fit of laughter.

"Wait I didn't….I didn't say that." McGee told us, trying to compose himself.

"I would've hoped for a little help, Claire. I swear I do not get paid enough for this." Kate mumbled to herself. Gibbs came walking in with a Caf-pow in his hands, obviously for Abby.

"For what Kate?" he causally asked. My eyes widened and I straightened up.

"Um, nothing." Kate told him as we quickly recomposed themselves.

"We were just discussing potential suspects." I told him.

"Focusing on the Sergeant's wife and best friend boss." Tony added.

"Yea? Well come on we got one more." Gibbs told us while walking off to go see Abby. Tony, McGee, and I looked over at Kate and smirked when Gibbs was out of sight. We paused a moment before bursting into laugher and giggles and quickly walked away to follow our boss. Kate glared and followed us.

"You guys are four years old! Honestly…" she scolded.

We all followed Gibbs down to Abby's lab. When we walked in she was wearing one of the autopsy hats that had a drawn-on skull and crossbones design complete with her braided pigtails sticking out of the top. She proudly smiled at us is who were all left speechless at the sight. I love Abby but….this was just a bit ridiculous. Tony rubbed his hand down his face before being the first to comment.

"Um…..nice hat." Tony told her with a mock serious face.

"Unique…" I told her honestly. _Not the first word I would use, but it was on the list for sure._

"Attractive." Kate added with a plastered smile.

"In a weird way." McGee added with a thoughtful expression. _What?..._ Abby beamed at us before turning to Gibbs.

"Why?" he asked, blinking owlishly.

"Well I had to set up a clean room in the ballistics lab to fix the damaged video tape. And just throwing the hats away seemed wasteful, so I decided to recycle." She explained cheerily. The four of us had moved around behind her and were giving her confused looks while she wasn't looking.

"What do you think?" Abby asked Gibbs.

"I think it suites _you_." He told her before handing her the Caf-pow and walking around her to look at the big screen.

"I haven't finished cleaning it up yet. But I have a P.O.I." Abby told us.

"Person of interest." Tony quickly whispered to McGee who just ignored him. I rolled my eyes….still with the babying.

"The following program which had been edited for time and content may not be appropriate…." Abby started talking like the beginning of a movie while Tony and McGee were whisper bickering behind her.

"Abby." Gibbs pleaded for her to get on with it.

"Right." She conceded and played what she had of the recording. I quickly smacked the two children in the back of the head while everyone's head was turned to the screen in front of us. They both whipped around at me in question.

"Shut up already!" I quietly scolded. They scowled and rubbed their heads before turning back to the task at hand. The video was scratchy but we could hear and see the three campers around the fire and the loud country music coming from the nearby camper that they talked about. Bill and Roger went over to confront the guy, like Roger had told Gibbs and I. Abby paused the tape.

"Ok, this next part is like an outtake from 'Deliverance'." She commented and skipped to the next part. The two marines had gone over to tell the guy to keep it down. He was very drunk and we watched as everything happened like Roger had told us. The guy took a swing at them and then Roger put the guy in a headlock to calm him down. Abby paused the video on a frame of the drunk man's face.

"We need to ID this guy" Gibbs told us while pointing at the screen.

"Oh I'm way ahead of you Gibbs." Abby assured and clicked on her computer.

"I got a shot of the license plate. The RV is registered to a David Runion. His last address was at an RV park in Manassas, he's since moved." She read off for us.

"Find him. That's good work Abby." Gibbs ordered before turning to compliment Abby.

"Tony head back to Shenandoah state park. Take McGee and Conners." Gibbs said, walking to the door.

"For what exactly boss?" Tony asked.

"I wanna know where the sergeant was killed before he was tossed off that cliff." Gibbs answered and walked out. Tony turned to McGee and I.

"Get the sedan ready Probie, I'll meet you out front." McGee nodded. We all made a move to follow him but Abby caught us before we could.

"So Kate, Claire….. you really like my hat?" Abby eagerly asked us. Kate and I froze in front of Abby. _Oh no….How to answer this question without hurting her feelings._

"Uh…I…its different" Kate told her honestly and I agreed with a nod and smile. McGee watched us curiously.

"Cool. I made you both one." Abby chirped and turned around to get them. Our smiles dropped once her back was turned. I looked over to McGee worriedly. He just shrugged indifferently. Abby turned back around and held a hat out to her that had butterflies on it. The other one, which he handed to me, had flowers.

"Oh, Abby I...I…I don't know what to say." I told her, unable to take my eyes of the object in my hands. Kate and I stood there awkwardly, just holding the hats in our hands.

"Put it on." Abby excitedly urged, looking early at the two of us. We both looked at McGee who gave us a 'what can you do' look. With Abby, it was just better to go along with it.

"Um…ok…" Kate reluctantly agreed. We both started at the hats before putting them on our heads. Abby smirked and held her hand out to McGee expectantly. _Now I'm confused…..What is going on?_ He reached into his pockets, pulled out his wallet and handed her three $10 bills. Kate and I looked between the two of them curiously.

"She bet me 30 bucks that she could make you two wear that today." He explained before walking off to get the car. Kate opened her mouth to reply but nothing came out as she looked between the two of them. Once he was gone we turned back to Abby who happily waved the bills around with a smug expression. I let out a chuckle and shook my head.

"Your cut." She said while handing us each a $10 bill. We took the hats off and smiled. _That was totally worth it._

"Pleasure doing business with you Abs." Kate said with mock formality.

"Totally." Abby responded before turning back to work.

Tony, McGee, and I were out in the woods looking for…..something …that would show where or how the sergeant had been murdered before dropping off the cliff. I was standing with Tony up at the bottom of the Cliffside, waiting for McGee to join us.

"Hurry it up McGee." Tony called while we were walking back down the last of the rock slope. McGee was left lugging some cases and slowly trudged towards us.

"You could've helped." McGee pointed out grumpily.

"I did….I carried the camera." Tony easily replied.

"And I carried the camera case." I cheekily added, holding up the bag for him to see. He glared at us.

"Moore was a marine, combat veteran. Probably not the easiest guy in the world to sneak up on." Tony commented, scanning the woods around us in thought.

"Unless he knew his attacker." McGee suggested and set the cases on the ground.

"Or he was ambushed." Tony countered. McGee sighed and looked at me. I mouthed a 'sorry' on Tony's behalf. Tony continued to look around, unaware of the conversation behind his back.

"It's a pretty wide open space….let's check out the tree line." He suggested. When we walked over we found some footprints and followed them, while taking pictures. I stopped when I spotted one that had something else in it other than dirt.

"Blood drop." I pointed out.

"It sure looks like it." Tony agreed and stood up straight.

"Ok were gonna have to search in there. You're going to wanna watch out for…"

"Yes, I know how to search a wooded area Tony. I'm not an idiot." McGee cut him off and took off his jacket sharply.

"He didn't say you were." I amended.

"Then why do you always treat me like one?" McGee asked, looking at Tony.

"Just trying to impart a little wisdom McGee." Tony calmly explained, looking down at the camera. McGee slung his jacket over my shoulder, making me jump and look at him oddly.

"Look, I rated top of my class in Fletsy. So, I think I can handle it." McGee quipped, while rolling up his shirt sleeves. Tony looked at him blankly.

"Be my guest. Give me a call if you find anything." Tony nodded his head towards the shrubbery. I looked at him and started to protest, but Tony held up his hand and I clamped my mouth shut compliantly.

"I will." McGee stated proudly and made his way into the woods. Tony smirked at him knowingly. _Oh McGee….I hope you do know what you're doing…_

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at the office Kate came in holding up a file.

"Found David Runion, Gibbs. Stayed at a camp 20 miles from Shenandoah state park. Also, ran a background check on him, he served time." Kate read off for Gibbs.

"For what?" He asked.

"Assault and battery. Nearly beat a man to death with a pool cue back in '93." Kate told Gibbs as she grabbed her gear from behind her desk. Gibbs threw on his jacket and grabbed his gun.

"This time he might have succeeded." Gibbs mused thoughfully while walking past her desk.

"We getting a warrant?" Kate asked following closely behind him.

"We need evidence for a warrant Kate, right now I just want to talk to him." Gibbs told her.

Meanwhile, back at the park, McGee was hunched over searching through the brush with one of his bags. He was in a small thicket so he was pushing lots of trees and bushes out of his way. He searched through some of the small leaves covering the ground, looking for something that would explain the blood spatter near the tree line. After a few minutes, he found something.

 **Claire's POV:**

"Tony! I found it!" we heard McGee call from inside the thicket. The two of us came up behind him, careful not to touch any of the ground leaves. Tony squatted behind McGee and took a picture of the handle of the baseball bat that was sticking out from under the vines.

"Not bad. Not bad at all McGee." Tony commented glancing around. _Poor McGee has no idea….._ McGee reached with his now gloved hands into his bag and pulled out a long plastic wrapping to put the bat in.

"Hey I'm….I'm sorry about back there." McGee apologized, glancing back at us sheepishly. _I wouldn't apologize just yet Tim._

"Don't mention it. Besides it's a pretty brave thing to do." Tony told him. McGee now had his back turned to us so he couldn't see Tony's smug look and my slightly wary one.

"Brave?" McGee questioned while slipping the bat into the bag.

"Well, crawling around here with all this poison ivy? I don't know if I would have done it." Tony mused. McGee froze and turned to look at us with wide eyes. He glanced at the trees and back to Tony. _We tried to warn him…_

"You're….you're kidding right?..." McGee tentatively asked.

"Leaves of three let them be….McGee" Tony quoted and looked over at the now slightly panicking McGee.

"Sorry Tim, we tried to warn you." I told him with an apologetic smile. Tim looked down at the ground and all the ivy leaves he was digging through just a few moments ago.

"A little something I picked up my first year." Tony added thoughfully.

"I learned the hard way from a camping trip gone wrong." I explained.

"Don't touch me by the way." Tony whispered and stood up, making his way out of the brush. I followed looking at McGee to make sure he didn't move any closer. McGee stood there looking around at all the ivy with wide eyes.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at the trailer park where Runion now was, Kate and Gibbs pulled up in their car. A small jack Russell terrier was tied to the truck attached the trailer. It started barking at the agents as they walked up.

"Is that a rat or a dog?" Kate commented, looking at the dog distastefully. She walked up to it with a smile.

"Hey buddy, hi." She cooed and stuck her hand down to pet it. The dog snapped and growled at her causing Kate to jump back.

"Sorry" she mumbled. Gibbs walked up to the little dog.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Gibbs." Kate warned, but watched in awe as Gibbs bent down to the dog and it happily wagged its tail and stopped barking. Gibbs pet the dog with a small smile, as the dog started licking his hand.

"One day you're gonna have to tell me how you do that." Kate joked. The dog was now getting a belly rub, completely content with Gibb's presence.

"Easy, they can sense sarcasm." Gibbs told her with a hidden smirk. Kate looked up at him in surprise and chuckled. Gibbs got up and walked to the trailer. Once he was gone the dog immediately started growling at Kate and she quickly followed Gibbs up to the trailer. Gibbs knocked on the screen door of the grungy trailer.

"Runion!" he called. The two of them tried to look in the windows but couldn't see anything. Gibbs knocked again.

"Special agents Gibbs and Todd, NCIS." He shouted. Kate started looking around to see if he was nearby.

"I'd like to ask you a few questions." Gibbs continued. No one answered. Gibbs nodded his head and the two of them pulled out their guns. He turned the knob and swiftly opened the door and slowly made his way through the overly cluttered trailer with his gun up. It didn't take long because it was so small. Once they cleared it he put his gun away.

"What do ya think?" Gibbs asked her.

"Disgusting comes to mind." She grimaced looking around the living space. To say the placed was trashed was an understatement. Kate stood in the doorway holding her gun, to keep watch while Gibbs searched.

"You smell that?" Gibbs asked, while moving things around the oven.

"If you're referring to the urine, yes." Kate told him.

"I meant this." Gibbs told her. She looked to see, Gibbs holding up an ashtray with a joint in it.

"Marijuana?" she asked.

"Yea its recent too." Gibbs sighed and continued looking. He opened the oven and made a noise of 'aha', when he found something. He pulled out a zip lock bag full of marijuana.

"Well that's enough to bring him in and hold him for a while." Kate commented.

"Oh yea." Gibbs agreed. The little dog outside started barking again. This got Kate's attention and she scanned the area. Over by the edge of the woods she saw Runion walking over with a handful of wood. He looked up and saw her too. As they made eye contact expression fell and he bolted, Kate taking off after him.

"Runion! Federal Agents, stop!" she called after him. Gibbs quickly followed Kate before breaking off into a different direction in the woods. Runion ran through the trees glancing back at the agents behind him as they continued the chase deeper into the woods. Once he was out of sight Runion made a quick turn and hid behind some bushes on the edge of a small slope. Catching his breath he peeked out between an opening in the bush plants, watching Kate take of running in the direction he was originally heading.

"Idiots." He snickered smugly. Suddenly he froze as he felt the barrel of a gun on the back of his head.

"Put your hands behind your head." Gibbs calmly told him. Runion put his hands up with wide eyes, still on his stomach so he couldn't see Gibbs.

"How..ha..how'd…" Runion stuttered.

"Sneak up on you like that?" Gibbs finished for him.

"Yea." Runion grunted.

"I used to do it for a living. Back then you'd be dead instead of under arrest." Gibbs told him. Runion was silent.

"Any other questions?" Gibbs mockingly asked the man, grinning triumphantly.

"Uh uh" Runion grunted, still in shock. Gibbs nodded his head.

"Didn't think so." He mused


	15. Chapter 15

[Caught on Tape 2]

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at NCIS Ruinon was in interrogation with his hands cuffed behind his back. He was a redneck looking, ginger headed man with a bald spot in the middle of the buzz cut.

"I know you can hear me out there….I'm saying this for the last time, I gotta use the bathroom." Runion warned at the mirror panting slightly. Back in the observation room, where we were, Tony stuffed a handful of fries into his mouth. Kate watched Tony with disgust before turning back to the window. I however stole a fry of my own and popped it into my mouth, ignoring the look Tony was giving me. I hadn't eaten in quite a while.

"Ok have it your way, won't be the first time I had to do this." Runion shrugged. Kate looked worried.

"Maybe we should…." Kate suggested.

"He's bluffing." Tony brushed off her comment, still stuffing his mouth full of fries.

"Tony, you didn't see the inside of his camper." Kate countered with a grimace. Tony looked at her doubtfully while eating another fry.

"That bad huh?" he asked. I grabbed another and lifted it to my mouth.

"Think of the most disgusting public restroom you have ever been in, covered in pus and vomit." Kate adamantly told us. I grimaced and put the fry down. _I am suddenly no longer hungry. Thanks a lot Kate._ Tony took out the fry that was still hanging out of his mouth, evidently just as disturbed as I was.

"I would still rather live there, than this guy's place." Kate continued. _That's just beyond disgusting!_ Tony put the fry back into the box, suddenly losing his appetite too.

"That's nice Kate." He mutterd and threw the fries away. Kate looked over at us.

"You two should thank me. Eating that crap will kill you." She lectured.

"I like to live dangerously." I joked, shooting her a teasing smile. Tony just glanced at her indifferently.

"I'm more concerned about what Gibbs would do if this redneck takes one in our interrogation room." Tony told her. I scrunched up my nose. That's gross too. Kate gave an amused smile before turning back to the window as Gibbs opened the door to interrogation.

"I….I gotta use the bathroom." Runion quickly told him.

"Hold it." Gibbs told him and sat down.

"I can't." Runion countered. _What is he 5?_

"We can do this quick." Gibbs suggested.

"Why'd you murder Sergeant William Moore?" Gibbs asked. _Well, I guess he's getting right to the point with this one._

"What?" Runion's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Who the hell is that?" he asked Gibbs.

"That's right, you probably don't recall his name." Gibbs casually mused. He opened the file and showed Runion the picture of the dead sergeant. Runion didn't say anything. Gibbs rolled his eyes and shut the file before standing up to turn on the TV in the corner of the room. He played the video of Runion taking a swing at them that was recorded on the camcorder. Gibbs paused the video on a frame of his face. Runion still didn't say anything. Gibbs walked back over to his chair and leaned in close to the man, with his hands on the table.

"He was found yesterday lying at the bottom of a cliff." Gibbs explained. Runion let out a breath and shook his head.

"Is that what this is all about?" Runion asked.

"You think I killed some jarhead?" he continued in disbelief. Gibbs' eyes narrowed.

"No way man, nice try." Runion told Gibbs with a nervous shake of his head.

"Why'd you run?" Gibbs asked.

"Cause of the pot in my trailer." He told him as if it was obvious. _Logical reason._

"I got a medical condition." He added. I rolled my eyes.

"What? Stupidity?" Gibbs sarcastically asked. I raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tony in amusement. He wasn't usually this sassy with suspects.

"Aw look man I was drunk that night, I barely even remember the guy. I sure as hell didn't kill him." Runion earnestly pleaded to Gibbs.

"Where were you yesterday between 5:30 and 7:30am?" Gibbs continued.

"Sleeping….a…at the rest stop off of 211. I didn't even wake up until after 10 o'clock." Runion answered after a moment.

"Witnesses?" Gibbs asked.

"Sure…..I mean there were lots of other cars and trucks when I pulled in." he answered.

"I need names." Gibbs told him.

"I..I don't have any names." He sarcastically told Gibbs. Gibbs didn't back down, and continued staring him down. After a moment Gibbs stood up and looked back at the mirror. Kate pulled out her PDA and looked up a map of the area.

"There are two rest stops on that road Tony." She told him.

"Check if they have any video surveillance or attendance." Tony instructed.

"On it." She nodded while I walked over and pushed the intercom button.

"Running it boss." I told Gibbs

"So what now?" Runion asked.

"You have a violent past, your alibi is weak, and I have you on tape threatening the victim. You tell me Runion." Gibbs commented. Runion gave him some sob story about his life and told him that he didn't kill anyone. Gibbs pulled out a picture.

"We found your bat." He countered. Runion swallowed. _He looks awfully guilty to me._

"What bat?" he played off. Gibbs stared at him.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in the lab Abby was finding a place to put the fragment found on the victim to the bat they found. That way they could see if it was a match. McGee walked into the lab.

"Hey Abby." He greeted.

"Got something?" he asked, looking at the screens beside her.

"Well I got good news and bad news. This is definitely our bat." She told him not looking up from her giant microscope.

"The splinter from sergeant Moore's head fits perfectly." She explained.

"Bad news?" McGee asked curiously.

"It's clean of any prints. The only thing on it is urethral oil. That's a step…" she trailed off when she looked up and saw McGee her eyes widening in shock.

"Ahhh…" she exclaimed with a grimace, her eyes scanning over his face.

"What?" McGee asked. What he didn't know was that the entire right side of his face was covered in giant red blotches. A result of all the poison ivy he had been walking around in out in the woods where he found the bat.

"You…you have to see this for yourself." Abby told him gently. He gave her an odd look and scratched his face absently. Abby pulled out a blank CD that she had and held it up for him to see the reflection. Mcgee grabbed the disk and looked at his face. His eyes widened and he scrunched up his face in shock at the damage that had practically engulfed it.

"Whoa.." he mumbled nervously. He glanced up at Abby.

"This is gonna hurt isn't it?" he nervously asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes." She told him with a vigorous nod. McGee groaned.

"I look like a circus freak." He wailed. His face dropped and he looked to her.

"Abby what do I do?" he pleaded.

"Umm….well… you could…use calamine lotion." She suggested and fidgeted while looking at his face. It was really bad.

"Or perhaps destroyer, or just wear a mask." She continued, looking at the red splotches. Mcgee grimaced and looked back at his reflection.

 **Claire's POV:**

Back up in the bullpen I was on the phone with the sheriff in charge of the Shenandoah area.

"And can you mark it Special Agent Conners." I told him.

"Thanks Sheriff Lester." I told him and tried to hang up but he told me to wait.

'How about we have dinner tonight?" He asked.

"Dinner?" I asked in confusion.

'yea, you and me?'

"Aren't you married?" I asked him incredulously.

'yea, but that doesn't matter.' He countered.

"Well it does to me." I told him and hung up the phone with a scoff.

"My father wonders why I'm not married." I grumbled to myself. _Some men can be such pigs._

"So does mine." Tony added, leaning over the wall beside my desk. I jumped and looked up at him. I hadn't noticed that he was there.

"Could you stop doing that?" I scolded. I hated when he jumped out of nowhere.

"I'm practicing Claire." He told me.

"What? Annoying me?" I asked dryly. _Sometimes I'm convinced that's his life goal._

"No, the creepy way Gibbs used to sneak up on us." He clarified.

"What do you mean used to?" I sarcastically asked and turned back to my work. He still does it.

"The old man has been wearing Bengay lately. I can smell him coming a mile away." He countered. Despite that I wouldn't put it past Gibbs to still sneak up on us. I looked up and smiled at him before quickly hiding it. Tony smiled back, thinking he was funny but boy, was he wrong.

"Is that a fact DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked from behind him. Tony's smiled quickly dropped and he glanced behind him without turning his head. I was loving this.

"Knee feeling better boss?" he asked innocently. Gibbs paused which made Tony nervously glance around.

"Much….." he answered. Tony put on a grimace and closed his eyes waiting for the head slap. Gibbs smirked behind him and walked into their work area. Which was…odd.

"What about Runoin's alibi?" Gibbs asked. Tony spun around frantically, making sure there wasn't anyone else coming to smack him.

"I've got the local sheriff pulling the security tapes from the rest stops on route 211." I told Gibbs, not wanting to look like I was goofing off.

"And we have a picture of his trailer and his pickup circulating with the state cops who worked the area that night." Tony added. He walked over to stand between the two desks warily, still waiting for something to happen to him. _Serves him right._ Gibbs started grabbing stuff from his desk.

"So you think he did it Gibbs?" I asked.

"Oh yea." Gibbs answered. He pulled out a rag from his desk drawer and threw it at Tony who flinched.

"And Tony is cleaning it up." Gibbs added. Tony held up the rag and looked at Gibbs with wide eyes. What was he talking about? Tony and I looked at each other with confused faces, and I shrugged. Gibbs made a call on his desk phone.

"Janitorial….yea don't worry about the interrogation room 1, DiNozzo is gonna handle it." Gibbs told them. Tony looked at me with a disbelieving gasp. Now I got it. I guess Runion really did have to go to the bathroom after all. This punishment was much better than a head slap. I let out an 'ohh' and held in a laugh at the terror in Tony's eyes. Tony chuckled nervously hoping Gibbs was messing with him.

"Still here?" Gibbs asked not looking up at him.

"Are you serious? The…." Tony trailed off. Gibbs turned his head and looked at Tony with a serious expression. Tony let out a pained laugh.

"You're serious?" he asked again. Gibbs stood up. I shot Tony an 'uh oh' look.

"In my defense I did use the word creepy in the most….affectionate way." Tony told Gibbs, trying to get out of it. Gibbs didn't budge.

"Right.." Tony dropped the issue and sulked, heading to the interrogation room.

"You might want to use gloves." I whispered as he passed. Tony gave me a sarcastic smile and continued on.

"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked. _That's right, I haven't seen him since we got back._

 **McGee's POV:**

In autopsy I was sitting on one of the tables while Ducky brought over a lamp. This itching and rash had gotten out of hand, and well…..Ducky is a doctor so…..

"Well let's see what we got here Timothy. Ah the dreaded proxy conundrum radicands." Ducky mused, looking me over. I had taken off my over shirt so Ducky could help with this little problem. I looked at him with a confused expression.

"The poison ivy plant." Ducky explained, seeing my expression.

"You seem to be particularly allergic to it, usually takes several days for this sort of reaction to develop." Ducky told me while looking over me carefully once more. I sighed.

"I'm lucky that way." I sarcastically remarked. This is just not my day.

"One other time I've encountered a reaction of this magnitude. Two young lovers fell asleep naked in a field of it." I started itching the rash on my arm. Ducky looked over and smacked my hand away with his own gloved hand.

"I don't think Sarah has ever forgiven me for that one." Ducky remarked with a smile. _Ouch…_ He lifted my arm and inspected the rashes that trailed up and down its surface.

"What I don't understand is how did I get it all over my face?" I questioned, watching Ducky wipe down my arm. I didn't touch the plants with my face.

"The urachal oil in the plant. Yes, once you get it on your hands it spreads by contact." Ducky informed me. _Oh no…_ I was alarmed now.

"Umm…then….I have a major problem Ducky." I told him wide eyed. Ducky looked up at me amused. And I thought this couldn't get any worse.

"When I was out there…I um…I had to…you know…" I attempted to tell him, pleading with Ducky to understand so I wouldn't have to say it.

"No I don't" Ducky told me.

"Relieve myself…" I slowly told him.

"Oh." Ducky replied not fully understanding. I looked at him worriedly for a moment before it sunk in.

"Ohhhhh" Ducky said, now with pity. That's not a good sign. Ducky stepped back.

"Well uh…let's take a look then." He gestured for me to get up. _Do we really have to do this now?_

"This is uh…this is kinda embarrassing." I muttered.

"Don't worry I have seen everything there is to see more times than I care to remember." Ducky assured. I pulled down my pants. Ducky gasped.

"Good lord." He remarked. _This really can't be good._ I looked down frantically.

"What?! What is it bad?" I asked.

"No its fine….fine…uh nothing to worry about." Ducky nervously chuckled.

"I just didn't expect to see quite so much…swelling." Ducky told me. I grimaced.

"If Tony finds out about this I'm gonna have to quit." I told Ducky frantically. He'll never let me live this down.

"Well your secret is safe with me." Ducky assured. _Oh thank goodness._ Just then Palmer walked into autopsy holding a file.

"Doctor, I've got the new inspection forms for your equipt…." Palmer trailed off when he looked up from the file and stared at the sight before him. He looked at me, then looked down and he grimaced. I could feel myself paling from embarrassment. This day just keeps getting worse. Ducky looked over at his assistant like there was nothing out of the ordinary going on.

"I'll come back." Palmer calmly told us before he made a swift exit. I looked over at Ducky in alarm.

"Him I'm not so sure about." Ducky casually added. _This is the worst day ever…._

 **Claire's POV:**

In the bullpen we were all looking at video footage from the rest stop where Runion parked. I still haven't seen McGee today yet. I wonder what's up with him.

"Runion's trailer pulled into the rest stop around 1am that morning Gibbs." Kate informed. She zoomed in on the footage.

"With a little digital enhancement." She commentated.

"Runion." Gibbs observed, looking at the man on the screen.

"I can almost smell him from here." Tony winced.

"You sure that's not leftover from your cleanup job?" I snickered. Tony gave me a glare, but then sniffed his shirt just in case. I didn't even try to hide my smug smile.

"How long did he stay?" Gibbs asked.

"All night." Kate told him. We watched the fast-forwarded version of the video and saw that the trailer didn't pull out until late the next morning.

"This anywhere near Shenandoah state park?" Gibbs asked.

"It about two miles boss." Tony told him with a goofy lilt to his voice. _Can't help but love his childishness._

"Well I guess he was telling the truth. We'll have to find a new suspect." Kate informed us with a sigh. Gibbs phone rang. _I was so sure it was him though._

"Yea Gibbs." He answered. While he was talking, Tony turned to me and blew in my ear before swiveling back around. I covered my ear and whipped toward him and letting out a scoff. He could act like such a toddler sometimes.

"Maybe not, come on." Gibbs told us. _We have another suspect?_ Tony, Kate and I looked at each other in question. Tony raised his eyebrows and then we all followed the boss man.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In Abby's lab McGee was sitting in a chair by her workspace.

"How are you feeling?" she sympathetically asked him. Tim was holding up a mirror, looking at the massive rash over his face.

"Like an idiot" he replied with a heavy sigh.

"Tony tried to warn me and I didn't listen." He admitted. He was feeling kinda bad about brushing him off when Tony was just trying to help. It may not have been the best way to go about it, but you can't expect too much from Tony.

"Oh don't feel bad. The same thing happened to him the first year he was here." Abby told Tim. He looked up at her in question.

"Really?" he asked with surprise. Abby looked back over at him with a grimace.

"Well not quite this spectacularly but yeah." She answered. Mcgee looked back at the mirror.

"So honestly how do I look?" he asked. Abby stared at him thoughtfully, unsure about answering that.

"Um….do you want the truth or do you want me to lie to you? To uh…ease the burden of your own self-loathing?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'd prefer the lie." He nodded.

"Me too." She quickly agreed.

"You're the fairest in the land McGee." She told him, obviously lying. Just then the team walked in.

"Okay what do ya got for me Abs…." they all froze in the doorway when McGee turned to look at all of them. They all scrunched up their faces into a grimace, because it looked like it hurt a lot. Claire covered her mouth in shock.

"Oh McGee…." She muttered sympathetically.

"It..It …it looks worse than it is." McGee assured them.

"I'm not so sure about that." Kate countered with a grimace.

"She means you look like the elephant man Probie." Tony added.

"Tony." Claire scolded.

"It's true." He whispered back. She turned and gave him a 'shut up' look. He did.

"Can you still work McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah…sure boss." McGee sighed after a moment. Gibbs looked him over and gave an unsure side nod.

"Ok.." Gibbs shuffled his way against the evidence table behind him to make it over to Abby without getting near McGee. Tony, Claire and Kate walked around on the other side of the table.

"What do ya got for me Abby?" Gibbs asked.

"I cleaned up more of the sergeant's video tape." Abby told him.

"What's the last thing he shot?" Gibbs asked.

"Ohh, unfortunately that's the part that received the most damage from the impact. When it had contact with the ground a lot of the data…" Abby started but Gibbs interrupted.

"When?" he asked her.

"…sent it to the naval photo lab, I'm hopefully gonna have it back for tomorrow." She answered with a hopeful smile. Gibbs gave her a look.

"Well what am I doing here Abby?" he asked slightly miffed.

"Because of this." she told him and turned to her computer. She played some of the patchy footage.

"This is from the beginning of the tape. Its most footage of them setting up camp and checking out the area. And then there is this…." She started. The video zoomed in on the best friend and the wife having an intimate moment. Mrs. Moore stroked his cheek as they talked about something.

"Looks like they don't know they're being videotaped." Tony commented.

"Ya think." Claire muttered. As they continued watching the best friend nudged her away and looked like he was protesting. The four of them watched intently.

"And on the next clip I got…" Abby continued. The camera came up close to the wife and she looked up at her husband behind the camera.

"Honey what's wrong?" she asked concerned. Tony turned to his right.

"Still think men and woman can just be friends Kate?" he asked smugly as his point was just proven.

 **Claire's POV:**

Abby was trying to read what they were saying on the scratchy film, while the best friend and wife were caught having a moment. She had the film zoomed in so we could all see it better.

"I just I can't be sure Gibbs." Abby admitted.

"According to Gloria, lip reading was never my strong suit." Abby explained. _Gloria? Who's that?_ She turned back to the big screen and kept rewinding the tape. The rest of us stood around her, looking at the footage.

"Gloria her deaf sister?" I asked looking at Gibbs.

"Uh uh, mother." He corrected. _Oh deaf mother._ I nodded in understanding.

"I think Judy Moore is saying something….'we have to blank him.'" She told us still staring closely at the screen.

"Kill?" Kate suggested.

"No…." Abby dismissed.

"Murder?" Tim added. Abby denied it again.

"Love…" Tony added with a blissful expression. _Tony would._ I rolled my eyes in disgust.

"No" Abby strongly dismissed. Gibbs looked over and smacked him over the head with his notepad. Tony winced and whimpered in pain.

"I wish you'd stop doing that." He practically whined. _The big baby._

"I will Tony, once you stop blanking up." Gibbs replied with a stern expression. I snickered while Tony rubbed the top of his head.

"Abby, could you pull the video back wider?" Kate asked. Abby did that.

"You see how she's touching his face?" Kate pointed out. The wife was caressing the side of his head.

"I mean it's very intimate, clearly there's more than a friendship going on here." Kate told them. _No dip Sherlock._

"Which you just proved my point about the sexes Kate." Tony added while giving her a pointed look. She looked at him and he gave her a fake smile. She glared back at him.

"DiNozzo you pick up sergeant Caine in the morning. Kate, you pick up Judy Moore. Don't tell her why." Gibbs told them and walked off.

"Looks like were gonna play Gibb's favorite game." Tony commented. _What game?_ I looked over at him with a questioning expression. Abby turned around excitedly.

"Musical interrogation rooms" she told us. Kate looked just as confused as I was.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV** :

The next morning Tony and McGee headed out to pick up Sergeant Caine. As they walked around the base people kept looking McGee's way.

"People keep staring at me." He commented.

"Of course they are. You're hideously disfigured McGee. If you had listened to me you wouldn't be in this mess." Tony told him as they walked.

"If I listened to you Gibbs would have fired me six months ago." McGee countered. Tony lifted his hand to smack McGee but instead he grudgingly took his hand away and scratched his head, making it look like that was the original intention. McGee noticed.

"You were gonna whack me but you stopped. Why?" McGee questioned.

"I remember what it was like being the new guy, trying to fit in, afraid to make mistakes. Then of course the obvious." Tony told him.

"You mean you like me?" McGee asked hopefully.

"No, it would be like touching a leper." Tony quickly told him, reminding McGee of the reason he was half red. Tony looked around and spotted their man. McGee walked beside him and shook his head, at Tony's almost heartfelt moment.

When they arrived, Sergeant Caine was giving a tour of the different types of jobs in the army. He looked over and noticed the agents over in the corner. Tony caught his eye and lifted his badge so the Sergeant could see it.

"Corporal Cameron will be happy to answer any questions you might have." Caine told the group of people and handed the clipboard over to the man next to him. He walked over to the NCIS agents. They decided to take a walk back towards the car as they talked about the situation.

"Any more on Sergeant Moore's accident sir?" Caine asked the two agents.

"Sure, accept it wasn't an accident." Tony told him, watching for his reactions.

"He was murdered Sergeant Caine." McGee added from behind them. Caine looked at the two of them warily.

"Murdered? How?" he asked.

"Baseball bat to the head." Tony started.

"50 foot drop off a cliff."

"Coyotes probably didn't help" They told him, each taking turns and adding information.

"That redneck must have overheard Bill saying he was gonna film up there in the morning." Caine muttered. He turned to Tony.

"We gotta find him." He insisted.

"We did." Tony told him. Sergeant Caine paused for a moment, wondering why he was being called in.

"You need me to ID him?" he asked. "Nope….we do wanna know what happened when Sergeant Moore found out you were sleeping with his wife." Tony quickly told the man. Caine stopped, staring ahead with a regretful expression. He swallowed before turning to look at Tony.

"She told you that?" he asked.

"No, he did." Tony answered looking at Caine with a hard expression. McGee pulled out his phone and showed the clip that they got off Moore's camcorder.

"You didn't know he was videotaping did you?" Tony asked, watching Caine's face turn hard. The Sergeant licked his lips before replying.

"It's not what you think." He said softly.

"Oh so you weren't sleeping with her?" Tony asked somewhat sassily. Caine stared at him and didn't answer, because it was true. McGee pulled out his handcuffs and put the sergeant under arrest.

"Arrest for what?" Caine asked them.

"We'll start with adultery and work our way up from there." Tony sniped before turning to lead the way.

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at the office Judy Moore was sitting at a chair by Kate's desk. I was standing behind Kate. I tried to contain my glare but it was somewhat difficult. Ever since my mom walked out on my dad while he was deployed, I was never fond of the wives that cheated. She just up and left my dad, brother and I. I never quite forgave my mom, so things like this didn't sit well with me. I know I'm not one to judge but seeing stuff like this first hand tends to make you biased.

"I don't mean to be rude, but couldn't you have just sent me my husband's personal effects agent Todd?" She questioned. I looked down at Kate as she thought for a moment. We weren't supposed to tell her the reason we brought her in.

"Well normally we would have, but that camera you bought was pretty expensive." Kate told her, not technically lying.

"It still works?" Mrs. Moore questioned.

"Yea, in a way." Gibbs answered from behind her. Judy jumped and looked up at him.

"Water?" he offered her a bottle and she took it gratefully.

"So Mrs. Moore, tell us about your husband? What kind of a man was he?" Kate asked.

"Loving….gentle." She told them.

"What about jealous?" I asked. She jerked her head up to look at me with confusion. Before she could say anything Tony and McGee walked in leading Sergeant Caine.

"Where do you want him?" Tony asked.

"Interrogation 1" Gibbs told them. The two of them saw each other.

"Roger?"

"Judy, what the hell did you tell them?" he harshly questioned as he passed. _Someone's not happy._

"No talking Marine." Tony shouted and continued pushing him to interrogation.

"What is going on here?" Judy questioned, looking to the three of us.

"That's what you're going to tell me Mrs. Moore." Gibbs explained with a small smirk.

"Take her to interrogation room 2" Gibbs told Kate. I followed behind them. Once they were both put in the separate rooms we left them to stew for a little bit. I walked into the observation room where Tony was. He looked up at me with a wary expression.

"You gonna be ok doing the interrogation?" he asked me. I looked up at him with a hard expression. Gibbs and I were gonna each take a suspect and communicate through earwigs, so we could get one of them to crack faster.

"I'll be fine Tony. I can do my job without personal feelings getting in the way." I assured him. He was aware about how sensitive I was to this situation and it warmed my heart that he still cared. Before he could respond Gibbs walked in and nodded to me. I glanced at Tony and he gave me an encouraging nod.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV** :

Tony and Kate were watching the interrogations from the observation area. They could see both since the room was in between the two interrogation rooms. Claire and Gibbs were just outside, discussing the game plan.

"As disturbing as it may sound, I think you may have a point about the sexes tony." Kate admitted as they were watching Sergeant Caine.

"It's biology 101." Tony commented, not looking away. He was still worried about Claire and how she would handle all this. He trusted her to do her job well, but he always worried anyway.

"Would you say I'm attractive?" Kate asked him.

"Sure." Tony immediately answered with no emotion. He wasn't really paying attention.

"Then how come you've never….." Kate gestured with her hands and trailed off. Tony turned towards her.

"I know you." He told her with narrowed eyes. _And you're not Claire…._ He added in his head. He started at the sudden afterthought but quickly dismissed it. Kate gave him a look of 'what did I do?' but didn't reply. Claire walked into the room with the sergeant.

"Something wrong with your arm sergeant?" she asked, noticing that he was itching.

"Picked up some poison ivy in the field last week, ma'am." He answered. Claire sat down but didn't look at him. She picked up her pencil and wrote something down on the notepad she brought.

"Is that a fact?" she whispered.

"I didn't murder anyone, ma'am." Caine told her.

"Yea, well we'll get to that part." Claire mumbled, still not looking up from her writing. After another minute of unnerving silence, she looked up at the Sergeant.

"How long were you and Sergeant Moore friends?" she asked. Caine swallowed and held in his emotion.

"Since boot camp, ma'am." He answered.

"Paris island or San Diego?" Claire continued with a tilt of her head.

"San Diego, ma'am." Caine responded. She raised his eyebrows and wrote something else down.

"Riiight….a Hollywood marine." She mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. Caine shook his head, brushing off her jab.

"So how long after that did you start screwing his wife?" She bluntly asked, trying to catch him off guard. Caine looked at her wide eyed. She simply raised his brows waiting for an answer.

"I don't understand Agent Gibbs. Why am I in here?" Judy Moore asked in the other interrogation room.

"Don't you want to know who murdered your husband Mrs. Moore?" Gibbs calmly questioned.

"Yes, but I know it wasn't Roger." She adamantly told him.

"He wouldn't! There's no way." She continued. Gibbs nodded.

"Why is that?" he softly asked. She looked down at the table.

"Because, he was with me that morning." She told him. Gibbs looked down and wrote on his notepad that he also had.

"By 'with me' you mean in the same sleeping bag?" Gibbs asked her.

"She actually said that?" Caine asked incredulously.

"No way, ma'am." Caine told Claire with his arms crossed.

"Why would she lie? I mean besides protecting you Sergeant?" She asked. Claire had relayed what Mrs. Moore was telling Gibbs in the other room.

"She's insane." He concluded.

"Look, right after Sergeant Moore went out to film the sunrise, I went down to the campground showers. I was gone for about an hour." Caine told her.

"So she was there when you got back?" Claire asked.

"Yes ma'am, she was making breakfast." Caine answered.

"So what you're saying is, she had about an hour to kill him?" Claire concluded.

"I…I…I didn't say that." Caine stuttered.

"My mistake….you're saying you had about an hour to kill him." She amended. Caine hardened his jaw, but his lip still slightly trembled with unshed tears.

"There is no way Roger would say that." Judy calmly told Gibbs. Gibbs looked up at the ceiling.

"Agent Todd, playback." He called to the intercom. Kate pointed to the soundman to play back the recording of what Sergeant Caine told Claire.

'why would she lie?'

'she's insane'

'so what you're saying is, she had about an hour to kill him?' Judy looked down at the table in mild shock after hearing the recording.

"Let me guess…..you thought he loved you." Gibbs commented. Gibbs looked up at her and waited. She took in a breath before starting.

"When Bill was in Iraq,….Roger and I…." she took in a teary breath again.

"We grew close…" she whispered trying to keep in tears.

Gibbs and Claire walked out of interrogation.

"What now boss?" Tony asked from in the hallway. Gibbs glanced at the door he just came from.

"Put them both in the same room." He instructed. Gibbs sighed and walked around the corner.

"I'm gonna need a refill for this." He joked, holding up his now empty coffee cup. Claire looked over at Tony.

"Isn't there a rule against that or something?" She asked him, confused. Tony just sighed and opened the door, following Gibb's orders.

 **Claire's POV:**

Once the two of them were in the same room, Gibbs told us to leave them by themselves. That way they would start spilling on their own. So, we were all in the observation room waiting for someone to start talking. Judy was sitting in the chair quietly while Roger paced around the room.

"We fooled around a few times Judy. It was a stupid mistake." Roger told her with a sigh.

"You said you loved me." She bit back. Roger paused and leaned on the table looking at her.

"Are you nuts? Bill was my best friend, it should never have happened." He sternly told her.

"Then why did you kill him if it wasn't to be with me?" she accused. Roger angrily slammed his hands down on the table.

"Damnit, stop saying that you crazy…" he started but stopped and walked over to the 'mirror'.

"I didn't kill him, she's making it up!" he shouted at the mirror.

"I'm pregnant Roger." She solemnly told him. Roger's face drooped as he stared straight ahead.

"It's yours "Judy continued. Roger turned and looked at her in shock.

"Oh this is better than cable." Tony muttered to me.

"The question is, which one's telling the truth." I looked back at him. So far, no one has confessed.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in the lab Abby and McGee had been working on the damaged part of the recording, just before Moore's death.

"Ok, ready to try again McGee?" she asked.

"Let's play it." He told her with determination. She played the clip and continued typing, in order to get the last thing he shot and hopefully reveal the murderer. They watched in anticipation as the scenes cleared up a little while he was falling.

"I just need to adjust the reading, off track a little more." McGee muttered. They ran it again as McGee kept typing away. Finally they got a clear picture and saw ….Runion leaning over and looking into the camera, holding the baseball bat. So Runion was the murderer after all.

 **Claire's POV:**

"His trailer never left the rest stop?" Tony questioned. Apparently Runion was the one who did it after all. Right now we were looking at the frame of Runion that was caught on tape after Moore fell.

"No, but Runion did. Abby inverted the image and at 0900 you can just make out his shadow underneath the trailer as he's coming back. It's only a four mile round trip on foot. "McGee told us, turning to Gibbs. Kate then got off the phone with the sheriff of the area.

"Runion posted bail of the pot charges over an hour ago." She informed us.

"Let's roll." Gibbs told us. I ran over to my desk and grabbed my gun.

"What about Sergeant Caine and Mrs. Moore?" McGee asked.

"Let them suffer for a while. I think Sergeant Moore would appreciate that." Gibbs told him and rushed to the elevator. As I followed I couldn't help but smirk at Gibbs' sense of justice.

After a drive we pulled up to Runion's trailer where he was currently packing things up. He looked over, hearing the car engine and jumped into his trailer frantically. _What is he doing?_ We all stepped out of the car and Runion opened the door to reveal a machine gun. My eyes widened and in a split second he started shooting. We ducked down behind the car doors. Kate and Gibbs on one side, Tony and I on the other. I knelt and started shooting back at him through the now busted windows. Runion hid inside.

"Put down your weapon Runion, or you're not getting out of here alive." Gibbs shouted. Runion busted one of his windows and continued shooting. We ducked again and Tony covered me with his body, causing us to scrunch down farther.

"I ain't going back to prison Gibbs you hear me!" He shouted back.

"Looks like we're outgunned boss." Tony commented and looked over at Gibbs. _We sure are, what can little pistols do against a big semi-automatic. Nothing._

"I'll circle around back." Kate suggested.

"I got a better idea." Gibbs countered. He leaned over and sharply whistled. _Why is he whistling?_ I saw a little dog come running out of the trailer and hopped into the car.

"You might want to cover your ears." Gibbs warned us. Tony and I ducked down and did just that as Gibbs lined up his shot. He shot at the propane tank on the trailer and blew it up. I ducked further down as the debris rained down on us. After a moment of silence Tony sat up with wide eyes and looked across the seats to where Gibbs and Kate were.

"I think you got him boss." He mused in astonishment.

"Ya think?" I asked looking up at him. The four of us stood up and looked at the burning heap. I glanced over and noticed that Kate was holding the little dog in her arms.

"Well what are we gonna do with this thing?" she asked Gibbs. He looked at her and smirked.

"No, no way Gibbs." she argued. Tony walked over to join them.

"I'll take him. I've always wanted a dog." He offered and reached out to pet the dog. It growled and snapped at Tony viscously. He jerked his hand back and Kate laughed. I put my hand over my mouth to hide my amusement.

"Good dog." She praised and pet the dog fondly.

"I think I'll call you Tony." She cooed and the dog licked her face.

"It's a bitch Kate." Gibbs told her.

"I know." she responded, which made Tony whip around and glare at her. I chuckled and shook my head at them.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Tony walked back into the office from seeing Claire off to her car. He had picked up some stuff for Kate's new dog and ran into her as she made her way out.

"Is it just me or do you think Tony likes me?" Kate asked. Tony was behind her cubicle and hearing his name he quickly ducked down behind the small dividing wall to eavesdrop.

"I think it's more than obvious Tony likes you." Abby told her.

"He's not my usual type but, kinda cute." Kate commented. Tony quirked an eyebrow at this. Kate thought he was cute?

"More like adorable." Abby told her.

"Maybe we could share Tony." She added. Tony scrunched up his face in wonder. Suddenly a dog started barking, and Tony's eyes widened.

"Aw what's wrong?" Abby asked the little dog.

"Aw nothing, good doggie." Kate cooed at the dog sitting on her desk.

"You can come out now DiNozzo." Kate called. Tony picked up a phone in front of him and stood up, acting like he was back there for a reason.

"Yea, no I'll just uh…..I'll take care of it." He muttered to the imaginary person.

"Hey." He greeted the girls, walking around to Kate's desk.

"Did you bring the dog food?" Kate asked.

"Yea, they didn't have any bowls." Tony told her. He gave Kate the food, warily watching the dog and jerked his hand back when it snapped.

"That's ok, we got it covered." Kate told him.

"I got a present for you little Tony." Abby announced and put a black spiked collar in front of the pink bow it was already wearing.

"Oh, good idea." Kate told her.

"Now we can tell the two of them apart." Kate joked and sent Tony a cheeky smile.

"Well at least I don't hang out with married people Kate" Tony shot back from his desk. She groaned and turned to Abby.

"Will you please tell him that men and women can just be friends?" Kate asked her.

"Absolutely they can." Abby said and looked at Tony.

"Without having sex?" Tony asked her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh no they'll have sex." Abby said as if it were obvious. Kate frowned and looked over while Tony triumphantly smiled.

"Abby.." Kate muttered. Abby looked over at her.

"What Kate, you've never slept with a friend?" she asked. Abby turned to Tony.

"Like have you and Claire ever, done the deed?" Abby asked curiously. Tony's eyes widened at the accusation and he quickly started rummaging around his desk to divert away from the question. Of course they hadn't, he wouldn't feel right just using her like that. Kate's jaw dropped and she looked between the two of them.

"What is wrong with you people," she groaned.

"Good question Kate." Gibbs commented and stopped by her desk. He looked down at the dog they were petting.

"What did you do to the dog?" he asked.

"Just taking care of her,…..unless you want to?" Kate said looking up at him. Gibbs raised his hands to say 'I don't have anything to do with this'. Tony continued looking around his work area and through his desk drawers.

"Has anyone seen my ball cap?" he asked.

"No" Abby and Kate said in unison, smirking at each other. They had put the dog down so she could eat.

"I could have sworn that I had it right on my desk." Tony muttered and scratched his head. Gibbs looked over and saw the missing cap being used as a food dish. He just smiled. Nothing new about the childish actions his team displayed.


	16. Chapter 16

3rd Person POV:

Claire rolls over onto her back panting heavily. Sweat rolls down her forehead as she closes her eyes with a soft smile, gaining back her breath. Tony lies next to her breathing just as heavily. He groans and wipes the sweat off of his own brow. She glanced over at him and giggles at his winded expression.

"You alright over there Tony?" she asks him. Tony take a minute to compose himself before looking over at her.

"Oh yea, I'm fine." he assures with a nod. She laughed at his attempt to act calm and collected.

"You really need to work out more often Tony." Claire teased, knowing it would get him riled up. Tony glared.

"I work out plenty, thank you very much." He defended. Claire raised an eyebrow and looks back over at him.

"Oh yea? So you ready for another round?" She asked him challengingly. He chuckled at her tone.

"Oh yea, just give me a minute." He told her and sucked in another breath.

"Just give up already Tony. She's kicked your ass 3 times in a row now." Kate jeered. She and McGee were watching them from the benches near the wrestling mat. Since they didn't have an assignment the team went down to the NCIS gym to get a workout in. Tony, being his arrogant self, decided that a 'friendly spar' would be a good idea. He wasn't aware that Claire had recently been doing some kickboxing, adding it to her repertoire of hand to hand combat training. Tony had gotten himself into a heap of trouble and his pride was slowly being chipped away. Claire was never going to let him live this down. Tony growled at Kate's comment.

"I'm warming up Kate. I have to let her build up a little pride before I tear her down." Tony explained as he slowly stood up with a wince. He held his hand out and Claire gladly took it. They stood up and Claire grinned when Tony didn't look her in the eye. She held her fists up and bounced on her feet, ready for another round.

"You ready Tony?" she asked with a smirk. Tony sputtered trying to stall.

"Why don't we get some water first? I know you're tired." He suggested and walked over to his gym bag by the rest of his team. Claire smirked in triumph and walked behind him. She and Kate chatted about technique on one end of the bench. Tony sat down beside McGee who was trying hard not to snicker at Tony's defeat. However Tony noticed and glowered at him.

"Got something you wanna say Probie?" he snipped. McGee shook his head with an amused expression.

"No Tony…..I'm sure you tried your best." He added with a quivering voice, holding in his laugh.

"Why don't you take her on then huh? See how long you last." Tony told him.

"No thanks, I think I'm going to keep my dignity for now." Tim told him. Tony took another gulp of his water and wiped his face down with a towel. Claire looked down at her phone and quickly started packing up. Tony noticed.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked suspiciously. Claire pulled her bag over her shoulder and grinned at him.

"Devon is coming home today. He's living with me until his next deployment so I'm picking him up at the port. Gibbs gave me the day off." She explained. She took a few steps forward to leave but paused and turned back to her team.

"Oh by the way I'm having a welcome home gathering at my house afterwards and you all are invited if you want to stop by." Claire told them with a smile. She turned to leave again and forgot something else.

"Oh Tony, if you want you can join us at the port. I know Devon would like to see you." She added. Tony smiled at the thought.

"Yea I'll be there. Just text me when you're leaving and I'll ride over with you." Tony told her. Claire nodded and raced off with a broad smile. Tony laughed at her excitement.

"So how long has her brother been gone?" Kate asked Tony once Claire had left. Tony stood up to stretch and thought for a moment.

"Almost two years I think." Tony told her. He and Claire had talked about it when they first caught back up months ago.

"Seems like she's pretty excited." McGee commented from beside the two of them. Tony nodded with a fond smile, thinking back to how close Claire and her brother were in college.

"Yea, they're really close. Since their dad was always off training cadets around the country or other Marine stuff, and mom out of the picture, they only had each other. So they got real close. He was always visiting and calling while we were at college." Tony informed them. They nodded in understanding.

"Well I can't wait to meet him." Kate informed them and went back to the gym equipment.

Tony's POV:

After a few hours at the gym Claire had texted me the time she would be leaving so I headed back to my apartment to change and shower. I took an Advil to ease the slight pain I had from Claire's beating. I drove over to her building. I sent her another text when I got there and waited for her to come down. She made her way over to the car and hopped into the passenger seat. I put the car in drive and glanced over at her. She was practically bouncing in her seat. I shook my head with a smile. Even though she was usually the mature one, sometimes she acted like a 5 year old. After driving to an hour or so we finally made it to our destination. We parked the car and Claire grabbed my hand excitedly before dragging me off towards the mass of people waiting for the ship to dock.

"Claire hold up a second! I've got to lock the door." I told her with a chuckle. She groaned and waited for me to push the button on my keys, hearing the horn signaling that it was locked. Once I was satisfied she grabbed my hand again and bolted, nearly jerking my arm out of socket. We weaved our way through the crowd, Claire flashing her badge every now and then, barreling through the other families. I kept apologizing for her hasty actions. Soon enough we made it to a more spacious place near the front and waited as the sailors got off the ship. I looked down at her as she kept standing on her tiptoes, looking for the head of her giant of a brother. I was always shocked by her family's height. Her dad is tall and both of his kids got the genes. Claire was tall for a girl at 5'8", not that I minded at all, and her brother was about 6'4".

"Do you see him?" she asked me after a few minutes of searching. I snapped out of a daze, apparently I was staring at her. I started looking around for Devon. I wasn't even sure how I would identify him, I mean I haven't seen the guy for years. Suddenly she grabbed my arm and jerked on it harshly.

"Ow! What?" I asked from her sudden giddiness.

"I see him! Tony, he's right there!" she told me while bouncing on her toes, beaming up at me. I glanced around trying to spot him but she took off before I could.

"Devon!" I heard her screaming. I followed her as best I could before I stopped a little ways behind the two of them. I stood with my arms crossed as I watched their happy reunion. Devon found her and dropped his bag onto the ground before holding his arms out. She jumped into them and wrapped her legs around his waist, causing him to nearly topple over but he still let out a deep laugh at her enthusiasm. I couldn't help but smile at how happy she was right now. That's when she gave the best smiles. The ones that made my heart jolt in my chest. After a couple minutes Devon looked up and noticed me standing behind her.

"Tony! What are you doing here?" he asked letting her go and bringing me into a bro hug. I patted his back and looked over at Claire who was standing beside the two of us.

"Well Claire invited me over. Plus someone has to keep an eye on her." I joked and sent her a look. She shook her head and punched me in the shoulder. I let out a little whine of protest.

"As I recalled, I looked after myself just fine this morning." She told me with a playful sneer. Devon looked between the two of us in confusion.

"What happened this morning?" he asked warily. Claire was about to tell him about kicking my ass at the gym. Devon was NOT to know about that! So I intervened.

"Well, I'm sure you are tired and want to be getting home. After all you are the guest of honor tonight." I told Devon while giving Claire a 'shut up' look. She rolled her eyes and picked up Devon's bag as we walked back over to my car. The two siblings talked excitedly with each other as we walked. Once his bags were in the trunk of my car I got into the front seat, Devon in the passenger and Claire got stuck in the back. After about 15 minutes Claire dozed off. I guess she was still tired from this morning's workout. I kept glancing back at her, making sure she wasn't going to mess up her neck from sleeping in a weird position or anything. I guess Devon noticed or something cause he had a smug look on his face.

"So…..you two dating yet?" he casually asked. My eyes widened and I looked over to see if he was joking.

"What? No. She has a boyfriend." I reminded him. I kept staring at the road in ahead hoping he'll drop the subject. Unfortunately he kept going.

"Yea, I know. But she honestly talks about you more than she does Stephen. I figured that you would have started dating by now, since everyone expected it back in college." He told me in all seriousness. _Really?...everyone expected it?...Sure I had a crush on her back then but I'm pretty sure I grew out of it._ I furrowed my eyebrows thinking all of this over.

"And even though I know about your track record….You would be the one that I would approve of to be with my big sister." He added with a smile.

"Really?" I asked out loud this time. I knew Devon was cool with me being his sister's friend but this was something else. He was just as protective of her as I was.

"Yeah, you make her happy and that's kinda hard to do on a consistent basis nowadays." He answered. Before I could respond Claire started so shift around and I clammed up. She didn't need to hear any of this. Thankfully Devon picked up on that too and we continued in silence for a little while until we reached Claire's apartment. When we got there Claire immediately sprinted up so she could get things ready before other guest started arriving. Devon and I followed after her just as everyone started showing up and the party started.

About 3 hours into the gathering I was leaning against the wall beside Kate with a drink in my hand, just observing. Claire was walking around talking animatedly with everyone she passed. Stephen was with her right now. He showed up a couple hours ago and I felt weird about it. Again I had nothing against him but I still felt uneasy and somewhat mad whenever he showed up with her. But he treated her good as far as I knew so I couldn't complain. Kate glanced over at me and followed my line of sight.

"So alright there Tony." She asked watching me carefully. I gave her a glance and then looked back to Claire.

"I'm fine. Just enjoying the party Kate. So no need to do your profiling on me." I told her cutting off her thoughts before she got started.

"You know that you should probably tell her how you feel…..You know if you hypothetically had feelings for her. Which I'm sure you'll say you don't….. In this business, you never know what will happen." She told me. I turned my head towards her. Sometimes she was annoying, but she was like a sister to me. Sometimes sisters had good advice.

"I don't have 'feelings' for her Kate." I dismissed. _Did I?..._

"Then why do you hate Stephen so much?" She asked. Here we go with the mind tricks again.

"I don't hate him. He's a great guy and he really cares for her. I just feel weird about them being together." I told her honestly.

"But why?" she prodded.

"Because…..I mean he's…well…." I stuttered, trying to come up with a real reason. I didn't have one.

"Because he's not you?" she finished. I paused. Was that the real reason? Nah, it couldn't be.

"You should tell her." She told me seriously.

"I can't. Not unless I have an actual reason for her not dating him. Which I don't." I insisted.

"And if you ever mention this conversation to anyone I will personally make your life miserable." I added with a pointed look. These personal moments were never to be brought out into the open.

"I thought you do that already." She mumbled. I glared and she laughed at my expression.

"I won't Tony. But I still think you should tell her. I can tell that she's different to you. You might regret it someday if you don't." she concluded before walking away and joining other guests. I thought about what she said for a few moments. Did I feel something? Obviously other people think we have some sort of intimate connection but I don't know. Nah, she's dating somebody else. It wouldn't be right if I started hitting on her for real anytime soon. I'm not even sure I like her like that anyway. She's just my best friend and that's why I get a warm feeling around her, I'm sure of it. No need to tell her anything. If she's happy then I'm happy.


	17. Chapter 17

[Pop Life 1]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Claire and Tony stepped out of the elevator on the floor where autopsy was. From the moment the doors opened you could hear the two bickering…..again.

"I didn't think that you would notice." Tony told Claire, trying to diffuse the situation since she was livid.

"Oh so stealing is ok if nobody notices." she sarcastically remarked at they walked through the automatic doors.

"It wasn't stealing it was sharing." He countered. Ducky looked up from the body he was working on and gave Palmer a tired look, hearing the bickering duo behind him.

"It was my lunch Tony! I didn't wanna share my lunch with you." She whined and turned to him, getting up in his face. Tony stopped to face her in the middle of the room and pointed a finger at her.

"Now see you just said it was sharing." He pointed out as he lifted his hands in the air with a triumphant smile.

"Excuse me!" Ducky interrupted. They paused their argument and looked over at Ducky who had turned around, no longer able to ignore the incessant bickering behind him.

"Show a little respect. This is a place of peace and dignity." Ducky pointedly told them as he turned back to the body on the table. Tony looked back at Claire as she let out a huff of frustration.

"Before Claire got here." Tony mumbled. She was not to be messed with at the moment so she violently elbowed him in the gut. Tony barely managed to block most of the blow with a grunt of slight fear. She could pack a punch when she wanted to, and at the moment she wanted to. Claire walked over and stood at the end of the table between Ducky and Palmer.

"We need a mediator Ducky or I'm going to have to go to employee relations." Claire informed as she sent a glare over to her coworker. Tony walked over to Ducky's other side.

"Which would be tattling." Tony commented. Ducky continued to work and somewhat ignored them while Palmer was glancing awkwardly between the two.

"No, going to employee relations is not tattling." She countered.

"It's the adult version of 'I'm telling mom'" Tony replied not looking at her. Ducky and Palmer continued to work as Claire marched over to Jimmy's other side to stand across from Tony.

"You are SO juvenile!" she accused.

"Am not."

"Are so"

"Am not." They bickered back and forth like children. Claire glared and turned to Ducky, taking a deep breath before talking.

"Ducky, we need an unofficial mediator." She explained.

"Did you talk to Gibbs?" he asked looking up from his work. Claire made a face coupled with a noise of uncertainty and looked over at Tony who matched her expression. They looked back to Ducky as if to say 'pretty sure that would be a bad idea'. Gibbs didn't like hearing the two of them go back and forth.

"Oh yes, I see your point." Ducky agreed after a moment of thought before going looking back at the body on the table.

"We thought of McGee." Claire started.

"But we have no respect for him." Tony finished for her.

"And then we thought of you." she continued. Ducky found it amusing that even when they bickered, that they finished each other's sentences.

"I see, third on the short list." Ducky commented and sent an amused smirk at Palmer.

"Well, at least I beat out Abby and Kate." He told his assistant. Tony and Claire looked at each other guiltily.

"We just came from there." Tony grudgingly told him.

"Abby turned us down…..and Kate just called us psychotic." Claire added. Ducky glanced at them.

"Oh.." he muttered.

"Come on Ducky she's driving me crazy!" Tony threw a small fit and pointed at her while facing away rather dramatically. Claire's mouth dropped with an offended look. She was driving _him_ crazy?!

"Well I am busy but uh…." Ducky looked at Palmer and nodded his head in the direction of the doors. Jimmy got the message.

"Um Abby needs these blood samples stat." Palmer told them as he reached across Claire to grab some test tubes. He rushed out of the room so they could talk.

"Yes, well I am busy but uh….I'm flattered that you would entrust your relationship to me." Ducky told them. Tony gave him an odd look.

"It will be rather like uh….marriage counseling." Ducky added with an amused grin. In perfect sync they both recoiled in disgust at the thought. Marriage?...Them?!

"Let's not use those words." Tony suggested with a grimace. That stung Claire a little but then again she was reacting the same way.

"Ducky it is only a platonic relationship." Claire corrected while doing the 'nothing else' sign with her hands covering up the tiny jab of hurt. Tony glanced at her with mixed emotions that he quickly buried too. Ducky kept the amused expression on his face watching their micro expressions give them away.

"So you'll do it?" Tony asked him, changing the topic.

"Oh of course I would relish the experience." Ducky assured.

"You know I studied psychology at the University of Edenborough under Professor O'Donnell." Ducky added and sounded like he was about to go into another lengthy story before Claire anxiously cut him off.

"Ok! Let's start." She suggested eagerly. She needed to prove to Tony that she was right.

"I left my desk for half a minute and when I came back Tony had eaten half of my tuna fish sandwich." Claire told Ducky. During her whole explanation Tony was making dramatic sounds of disagreement and had thrown his head back while pacing the side of the table.

"See! See! She's…whoop!" Tony animatedly started while gesturing that she was crazy.

"I'm hungry, we're buddies!" Tony started while gesturing to himself.

"It shouldn't be a big deal, it's not a big deal." Tony sent a glance at her before fully turning and leaning forward acting like he was talking to a dog.

"…But little miss _Tidy Twisty Pants_ blows everything out of proportion and it becomes a major deal!" Tony exploded while she had a shocked expression at what he was calling her. Of all the childish things! Ducky kept glancing between the two as the argument escalated again.

"All you left me was the crust!" she countered with distain. Tony pointed his hand at her and gave her a look of 'so what's the big deal?'

"Bah! Who is right here?" Tony diverted from the fact she pointed out and turned to Ducky gesturing between himself and Claire. Ducky looked between the two looking a bit bewildered at how intense they were over this.

"Yes, Ducky please…tell him." She encouraged while sending him a smile.

"Oh..we…we need to look a little…deeper.." Ducky hesitantly told them with a nod. Claire leaned her head forward with a look of disbelief.

"This is clearly a more than a blatant sibling rivalry being expressed by your adolescent and sexually charged bickering. This stems from an unconscious desire to please a father figure….among other things." Ducky told them, muttering the last part under his breath. Bringing romantic feelings into the mess would only make things work. So he decided to start small. Tony and Claire looked at him with 'you've got to be kidding me' looks. As Ducky explained they slowly followed him as he walked over to the sink. Once he finished his explanation they gave him a confused look, now standing side by side.

"And I think we all know who that is." Ducky added with a smile. Claire turned to Tony.

"What does this have to do with our sandwich?" she muttered, confused as to why this was relevant. Tony thought the look on her face was adorable. _Wait no….we're bickering…..I'm mad at her….we're both confused. She certainly doesn't look adorable._ Tony mentally shook away the thoughts.

"There's no father figure." Tony told Ducky with furrowed brows. Just then the doors opened and Gibbs walked in.

"Hey, why don't you answer your phone?" He asked somewhat irritated. Tony's eyes widened and he started to make his way to the door.

"We found a body, a female sailor, now come on let's go!" Gibbs told them as the two scurried past him to the elevator.

"I'll gas the truck" Tony said in passing.

"I've got the gear." Claire said.

"I prepacked the gear already." Tony countered. Claire glared at him as they walked to the elevator. Ducky followed them.

"Yes, there are clearly issues here. We need to meet twice a week, at least." Ducky instructed as the elevators closed. Gibbs turned to look at the two of them. They didn't make eye contact and continued the ride in awkward silence.

Claire's POV:

The crime scene was at a messy, small apartment that wasn't the victims. It was made up of a kitchen in the first half and basically a bed and TV in the rest of the apartment. Inside a female petty officer was naked and dead in the bed with the sheets modestly placed over her but you could still see all the blood in the bed.

"Petty Officer Second Class Amanda King. According to her ID, 26 years of age, been in the Navy 4 years." The detective on the case told the Gibbs. He had something resembling a cigarette balanced in his mouth so his words were slightly muffled. I honestly couldn't tell what the heck it was. Ducky was examining the body and taking blood samples while Gibbs took the statement from the Detective. Tony was taking pictures, leaving McGee and I to bag and tag evidence.

"That's as far as I got when I called you. We've already got enough things to do around here." The detective told Gibbs who stood up from looking at the body. The detective's replacement cigarette thing kept making a whistling sound when he breathed and Palmer looked up at him curiously. The man noticed.

"Give me a break, I'm trying to quit." He told Palmer while showing him the device. _Doesn't matter…..it's still an annoying sound._ Gibbs picked up a picture frame off one of the shelves.

"Is this the suspect?" He asked showing the picture to the man.

"Willie Taylor." The detective confirmed. It was the man in the center of the picture that was surrounded by three women. _None of them look like family, from the way their posing. Great, another sleazebag type of guy._

"He tends the bar at Sugar Street. We're processing him now." The Detective informed Gibbs. Once Gibbs was satisfied with his information he moved over to Ducky.

"Ok Duck. Stabbed to death?" Gibbs asked looking at the body. There was a bloody knife on the floor next to the bed. It seemed to be a pretty obvious guess.

"Oh, I'd say that's a safe assumption." Ducky agreed while looking at the obvious stab marks and the excessive blood on the bed. Tony took pictures of the weapon while I bagged and tagged it.

"Although I did find something around her nares. Show him, Jimmy." Ducky indicated while looking closer at the girl's face.

"Do I have NA-REEs, Jimmy?" Gibbs asked jokingly while Ducky chuckled at the banter.

"All mammals have Nares sir." Palmer explained instantly. Gibbs turned to look back at him. _Jimmy really needs to pick up on sarcasm sometime._

"Openings in your nose." Jimmy pointed to his nose while showing Gibbs the substance they found in the dead Petty Officer's.

"Give that to Abby, have her ID it." Gibbs told Palmer.

"Uh yes sir." Jimmy nodded. He paused before moving.

"I didn't mean to imply that you didn't know what Nare's were…" Palmer started apologizing to Gibbs before Gibbs interrupted him.

"Time of death?" Gibbs asked Ducky, completely ignoring Palmer. Poor little Jimmy nodded absently and made his way out the door to put away the substance. _He'll learn someday._

"Well the windows are open, the body is naked which would allow the heat to dissipate faster. If I were forced to proclaim a…" Ducky started.

"We're not forcing." Gibbs interrupted so Ducky would just tell him.

"Uh 0330 - 0500." Ducky told him so Gibbs could write it down for later use.

"We had an anonymous 911 call this morning of a woman screaming in this apartment at 5:30." The Detective told them.

"Or 0530" Ducky added as an afterthought. I chuckled with Ducky laughing along with me.

"McGee see if you can trace the source of that 911 call." Gibbs instructed while writing the information down.

"Right." He muttered from the other side of the bed. Palmer, who had come back in, looked closer at the victim.

"Her lividity has changed. She may have been moved." He told Ducky.

"The suspect said he flipped her." the Detective suggested.

From the corner of the room Tony spoke up.

"Boss, I don't know if you want to see this….but you probably should." He said while looking down into the small trashcan he was holding. Gibbs walked over and looked into it too.

"Some night, there's got to be three condoms in there." Tony muttered. Tony and I made eye contact and I raised an eyebrow. Gibbs looked up at him.

"Bag 'em. Send them to Abby." Gibbs ordered with all seriousness. Tony gave him a 'really' look. _That's just gross, even for a dude_. Reluctantly Tony stood up and looked at me. I quickly shook my head and walked over to Gibbs. Kate had come in distracting Gibbs so when his back was turned Tony set the can in front of McGee.

"Bag 'em Probie." He muttered quickly. McGee grimaced and stuck his tongue out in distaste. _Sucks to be him._

"I talked to Amanda King's CO. She was a good sailor, straight laced, a real hard worker, and she was being promoted to the Captain Sail man." Kate listed off to Gibbs. _What is someone like that doing here?_

"Being promoted to a Navy Captain doesn't match up with snorting drugs." I commented.

"Nope, but she told her shipmates that she had business in Norfolk." Kate told us.

"Didn't say what?" Gibbs asked with a curious look.

"No." she muttered. _That's a little hinky._ Gibbs looked over at the Detective.

"Your place or mine?" he asked regarding the interrogation.

"Mine." The detective told him. _This should be interesting._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the station Gibbs and the Detective were in the room with the suspect. The room looked like one you would see in the old movies, complete with the height chart for mugshots was on the back wall. Tony, Claire and Kate sat in the observation room lounging in the chairs provided. The suspect sighed tiredly with his hands folded on top of the table, looking down at a photo of Amanda King.

"Look, on my mother's life that's not the girl that I took home last night." He told Gibbs who was in the chair across from him.

"You went to bed with one woman and you woke up with another." Gibbs commented with a shake of his head. Willie Taylor pursed his lips and hummed in agreement.

 **Claire's POV:**

"I hate it when that happens. Never is pretty." Tony mused. He was holding a cup of coffee while having his legs tucked up onto the chair beside him. Kate gave him a half glare from his left side. Tony noticed.

"Sorry." He halfheartedly apologized. With a smirk I, who was a couple chairs down, pulled out my PDA and started typing on it. _Just digging himself a hole for our next talk with Ducky._

"Oh come on, you're not going to tell Ducky about that are you?" Tony whined noticing what I was doing.

"Yes I am, I'm keeping a journal." I answered with a smug smile. Tony sent me an annoyed look and turned back to the interrogation. _Once I hand Ducky all this information he will see that I am the one who's right._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"I suppose that knife wasn't your knife." Gibbs suggested.

"Nah, it wasn't." Willie told him.

"I actually carry a Swiss army knife." He added while glancing at the detective who came to stand beside him.

"How many drinks did you have?" Gibbs asked, while looking at a file the detective handed him. Willie eyed the new file.

"I don't know, like 2 or 3." He muttered tiredly. For the most part the Willie was being very calm and seemingly honest about the whole situation.

"Your blood alcohol level was .12 percent Willie." The Detective commented as he walked around behind the suspect. Willie chuckled.

"Alright you got me, I had a few more." He admitted.

"I mean you know how it is when you're tending the bar." Willie added. The detective leaned down towards Willie's face with his arms resting on the table and back of his chair.

"No Willie, tell me." He told the man. Willie glanced at him, unaffected by his attempted intimidatation.

"You act friendly and people buy you drinks." Willie told the man.

"Which are watered down to make more money." Gibbs added. The detective stepped away and started pacing behind him again.

"We don't do that at Sugar Street alright." Mr. Taylor assured Gibbs.

"Did you pick her up at the club?" the detective continued.

"No. No, I met her in the parking lot. She said she lost her keys." He informed them.

"Did you ever see her before?" Gibbs asked.

"Nope." He answered with a sigh.

"No I just thought, 'Man you a lucky guy willie.'" He told them with a chuckle.

"Did you get her name?...Lucky man?" Gibbs asked.

"Amanda, I think." Willie answered after a second.

"Oh, funny. The dead sailor we found in your bed was named Amanda." Gibbs sarcastically commented.

"Look, she's not the girl that I slept with." Willie protested.

"What was Amanda's last name?" Gibbs asked.

"She didn't say."

"Phone number." He tried again.

"I didn't get it, alright. Look it all went down kinda fast. I gave her a kiss, 'whoopty whoop', and then it's back to my place to make some noise." Willie informed them.

"Anybody see you two that can verify your story?" Gibbs asked. Willie bit his lip looking intently at Gibbs.

"No." he told him.

"You and Amanda get in a fight?" the Detective suggested.

"No, look we had a good time alright?" he kept telling them.

"Yea, I'd say you had a real good time. We found traces of meth in your blood." The detective told him, doing his intimidation trick again.

"Did you give her meth too?" Gibbs added standing up

"No! We didn't do any drugs together!" Willie told them. He rubbed his forehead in frustration.

"Look, I am telling the truth. That is not the girl that I slept with!" Mr. Taylor adamantly told the two of them. Gibbs looked at him for a moment, Willie seemed to be telling the truth.

Claire's POV:

Once we got back from the interrogation Gibbs, Kate, Tony, and I made our way down to Abby's lab.

"Abs, give me the condom's tests." Gibbs said while walking through her automatic door to her desk where she and McGee were sitting. Abby looked up at him with an amused smile.

"Not the words you wanna hear first thing in the morning." She playfully commented. _That is very true._

"It's already running." She added after a moment.

"Not just the inside. Make sure that the outside matches that of Petty Officer Amanda King." Gibbs told her while handing her the Caf-Pow.

"Suspect claims he woke up with one woman and woke up with another." Tony informed her with a sigh.

"That happens to girls too." I told him, pointing a finger in his direction. He gave me an odd look.

"I know right. You go home one night with this guy and you think he's all dark and gnarly. Then you wake up the next morning and his tattoos are fake and he works at a bank." Abby told us with a serious expression. I shook my head in agreement. Abby gets it. McGee scrunched up his face in thought.

"I used to work at a bank." He told her as if to say 'what's wrong with that?' Abby turned towards him.

"But you're tat is real. And you don't disappoint me." Abby countered calmly. _McGee has a tat? And more importantly…..are we missing something between those two?_ I noticed that Kate and Tony gave her an odd look and tilted their heads processing what she said. McGee gave her the same look. Abby, as usual, paid no attention to our quizzical expressions. Tim shook off the comment and turned back to the matter at hand.

"Boss, the uh anonymous phone call came from a payphone outside Willie's apartment." McGee told Gibbs who was inspecting the knife from the crime scene. Gibbs looked at the two techies.

"No finger prints?" he asked holding up the knife.

"No, and that's what's weird. He sleeps with her, he stabs her and there's no prints on the knife." Abby told him while leaning back in her chair.

"Is the blood from the victim?" I asked.

"Yes, the tox screen is still running but it's a safe bet that it's methamphetamines." She told us.

"The powder in her nose was meth?" Gibbs asked for clarification.

"Yup." Abby told him with a large nod.

"Why would a straight laced Petty Officer OD on meth?" Kate asked no one in particular. _That is still really weird._

"Maybe she's not so straight laced. We all have our funky side. Except for Kate." Tony commented. Kate elbowed him in the ribs with a glare on her face. He let out a pained grunt.

"And you boss, I'm sure you have no funky side." Tony quickly added as Gibbs made his way to the door.

"I know that Claire has a funky side. Remember that one time that…" Tony started. My eyes widened in fear from what he was about to spill so I quickly lunged at him and he jumped away.

"Find out who the real Amanda King was." I heard Gibbs tell us as he walked out. Kate and Tony raced after him. Tony mostly because I was still trying to wring his neck.

The team did some researching and found out that Petty Officer King's father was in the last stages of bone cancer and was at a hospital near Norfolk. So Gibbs and Kate drove over to the hospital where they found her father and younger sister. They didn't know Willie and were both obviously distraught over the whole situation. According to them she was exactly like her CO had said. Very clean, hardworking, an all-around good sailor. She also never did any drugs so what was with the meth in her system and ending up the way she did? None of it was matching up.

Gibbs, Kate, and I walked back to Abby's lab once she and Gibbs got back from the hospital.

"Hey DNA test done already?" Gibbs asked walking over to her computer station. Abby met us with a clipboard in her hand.

"No, it's still running but I got an answer without it." Abby told him. _Hmmm interesting._ Gibbs walked over to the plasma screen as she explained.

"The fluid on the outside of the condoms, has a different blood antigen than Petty Officer Amanda King." Abby explained while Gibbs looked at the DNA screen flashing 'negative match'.

"So there's no way Petty Officer King had sex with Willie Taylor." I added looking at Abby for confirmation. Gibbs walked back over to the three of us and we all shared a thoughtful look.

"Willie was set up." Gibbs concluded. _What was really going on here?..._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in autopsy Ducky was going over the petty officer's death with Gibbs.

"The knife missed her vital organs so the wound in of itself was not fatal." Ducky told him as they examined the knife wound on her side.

"She didn't bleed to death." Gibbs elaborated.

"Exactly" Ducky commented.

"Her body contained 4 liters of blood so there was no exsanguination." Ducky told Gibbs.

"Ducky…" Gibbs sighed at his lack of basic words.

"I'm sorry but it's such a lovely word. Exsanguination. I can't help saying it." Ducky chuckled. Gibbs stared at him in his usual way. Ducky picked up on the lack of humor and continued with his findings.

"Moving on. Since there was no bleeding from the wound…." he began.

"She was dead when she was stabbed." Gibbs realized.

"Precisely. Abby confirmed that the drug in her nose and blood was a methamphetamine…An incredibly large, lethal dose of methamphetamine." Ducky informed Gibbs.

"Someone tried to make an accidental overdose look like murder." Gibbs suggested.

"Oh I wouldn't call it an accidental overdose." Ducky corrected. Gibbs looked at him for clarification.

"No, in cases like this where a frighteningly high amount of the drug was found, I would say it was a suicide." Ducky explained. Gibbs shook his head and sighed. Just then DiNozzo came in through the automatic doors making them look up.

"Boss, Willie Taylor is here." Tony told him. Gibbs followed DiNozzo to the elevators. Maybe he can shed some light on the situation.

In interrogation Willie Taylor sat at the table with a frustrated expression and massaged his temples. Gibbs was just sitting there staring at him. The room was silent as neither one was talking.

"Do you know why Norfolk PD delivered you here?" Gibbs finally asked him.

"Yea, I'm a ping pong ball. They serve me to you and you smack me right back." He told Gibbs with a small sarcastic laugh. Gibbs chuckled.

"No, no you are telling the truth." Gibbs informed him. Willie leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

"Petty Officer King OD'd. After she was dead someone stabbed her…put her in your bed. Made it look like murder. Now who would do that to you?" Gibbs asked him.

"Wait a second. So you know that I'm completely innocent?" Willie asked, trying to comprehend what was going on. Gibbs put on a thoughtful expression.

"Man, don't I get like an apology or something?" Willie asked with his hands out in exasperation.

"You get to slide on. Using methamphetamines." Gibbs jabbed. Willie shook his head trying to think about who would do this.

"I…I don't know." He told Gibbs. Gibbs however wasn't looking for that answer so he shook his head and started to walk out the door. As he took one step up Willie started frantically talking so he wouldn't leave.

"A…Alright…alright…wait…wait, wait!" he pleaded while standing up. Gibbs opened the door back up and looked at Willie expectantly. Mr. Taylor sat back down with a sigh.

"Look uh….female sailors are…are…are like poison." Willie started to explain.

"If anything happens to them like drugs, sex, anything then you guys put our clubs off limits. Alright, no sailors then you ain't got no Sugar Street." He continued.

"Who'd benefit from that?" Gibbs asked.

"Uh well Ian Hitch. He owns T's and we're his only real competition. If that sailor OD'd at his club, then he would need to get the stink off fast." Willie told Gibbs.

"And shut Sugar Street down in the process." Gibbs added.

"Yea and that's the kinda stuff that limy bastard would pull too." Willie told him with a soft tone. Gibbs smiled and shook his head. This case was finally going somewhere.

 **Claire's POV:**

In the bullpen McGee had pulled up Ian Hitch's rap sheet on the corner plasma screen.

"Ian Hitch, aka Bulldog. American mother, English father, dual citizenship." McGee told the us. Gibbs, Kate, Tony and I were standing and looking at the screen while McGee read off the info on his desk computer.

"According to Scotland yard, he was charged with murder twice in Manchester and skated by both times." Tim added. _Yikes!_

"I'm afraid to ask. Why Bulldog?" Kate asked glancing back at McGee.

"I don't know." He told her.

"A bulldog bites you in the ass and never let's go." Tony told us, not looking away from the screen.

"Nuh uh" I protested. I'm pretty sure that's wrong.

"Yeah huh"

"Nuh uh"

"Hey!" Gibbs shouted so get us to stop the bickering. Tony and I scowled at each other before focusing back on the task at hand.

"Oh, he owns T's in Norfolk." McGee told us as he suddenly remembered. _How would he know that off the top of his head?_ Tony, Kate, and I turned around to look at him curiously.

"When I was stationed there I heard about it." McGee informed us. Tony raised an eyebrow encouraging him to continue.

"Apparently there's some very hot dancers there." Tim continued with a nod of his head.

"You….heard?..." Tony asked.

"Yea well I never went there, honest." He told Tony with an innocent look. I smiled at his innocence. _Oh little McGee._

"Ok." Tony dismissed, not quite believing him. I turned towards Tony waiting for him to jump at the chance to take the lead. Tony loved anything having to do with investigating girls.

"It seems to me that…" Tony started but noticed that I giving him an amused look. He gave me a quizzical look.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh I'm just waiting for you to ask 'boss let me take the lead on this one!'" I told him, imitating how he would say it. Kate snickered beside me, knowing that I was spot on. Gibbs watched the two of us with a bored expression. Tony brushed my comment off with a nervous noise and continued. _He knows I'm right._

"What I was going to say, _Claire_ , was if Hitch used a girl to seduce Willie Taylor it was probably one of his dancers." Tony told me pointedly. _Sure that's what he was going to say…._

"We get Willie to identify Ms. 'Go-go' and use her to get to Hitch." Tony continued and looked to Gibbs. Tony pulled out his own phone and started typing things onto it which made me suspicious. He cleared his throat loudly getting me to notice what he was doing and glanced to make sure I saw. So I gave in to his little games.

"What are you doing?" I finally asked and tried to see the screen.

"Oh just chronicling this conversation for our next session with Ducky." Tony smugly told me. _He's just trying to get back at me for writing stuff down about him. That's just childish!_

"You done." Gibbs asked looking at him.

"Almost." Tony mumbled while still typing away.

"Done or fired DiNozzo." Gibbs corrected.

"Done." Tony immediately put the phone away. I shot him a smug smile.

"So should we bring Willie to the club to identify the girl?" Kate asked.

"No, I don't want him anywhere near Hitch." Gibbs countered.

"Boss, I will find out who dances at the club and pull their DMV photos." McGee suggested.

"Not gonna work McGee." I told him while Gibbs sat down at his desk. Tony turned to look at the Probie.

"Girls at the club work for tips Probie, no W2 forms. And names like Tiffany Glitter and Susy Storm, they don't appear on driver's licenses." Tony explained with a 'duh' tone. He turned back to Gibbs excitedly.

"Boss I really think I should take…" he paused realizing what he was about to say. Gibbs looked at him in amusement while I crossed my arms over my chest in triumph. Sometimes it was scary how well I knew him.

"…the lead on this one…" Tony continued, sending me a spiteful glare. Kate laughed at the fact that I had totally called his reaction. Surprisingly Gibbs laughed along with her.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Tony, Claire and Kate were sent undercover at T's to get photos of the girls to identify them. All three had on glasses, where the spy cameras were. As they got to the front of the line they were frisked to make sure they didn't have anything on them. Tony and Claire dressed in the more casual, typical club attire while Kate obviously had never been and had on a white sparkly business type outfit. Tony had to make sure to keep his head still so his gaze wouldn't be shown to the team left back at MTAC. However, his eyes roamed freely…right down to Claire's butt that was wrapped up in the tight leather skirt she was sporting. As if she felt a gaze on her, Claire turned around to see Tony's eye rapidly jerk back up to her face. She shot him a knowing smirk as he cleared this throat, clearly flustered. He rolled his eyes and brushed past her, not wanting to dwell on what had clearly happened. There was no harm in looking right, its not like it meant anything. So he found her wildly attractive, but it was just the atmosphere that was driving his senses into overdrive.

Back at MTAC Abby and Tim were working the computers to take snapshots off the feed and Gibbs was watching on the screen.

 **"** **Alright it's looking good."** Abby told them through her headset.

When they got inside the place was packed with people watching the multiple barely clothed girls dancing on platforms with poles. The noise was very loud due to the music and chatter and it was hard to see clearly with all the strobe lights flashing. The three agents soaked it all in and Tony was obviously the more excited one of the three, which managed to piss off Claire for an unknown reason.

"Let's see Tony." Gibbs instructed. Abby clicked over to Tony's feed. When she did all you could see was some girl's butt hanging out and wiggling around as she danced.

 **"** **Well what do ya know, DiNozzo is finally looking where he is supposed to be looking."** Gibbs muttered.

"I heard that." Tony quipped while staring intently at the girls butt directly in front of him. Claire was standing beside him chuckled at Gibb's comment.

Gibbs smirked and watched the feed as Tony turned toward a smug looking Claire in glasses. He pushed her aside playfully and continued staring at the hot girl in front of him. Claire couldn't help but glare in his direction before walking off to do her job. Tony took a deep breath and licked his lips, trying to keep his cool since everyone could and hear what he was doing.

"How's that?" Tony asked.

 **"** **Well it's art but we kinda need a shot of her face."** Abby told him pointedly. Tony walked around and actually looked up at the girl who was dancing sensuously in front of him. He was attracted to it, because he's still a dude and still Tony, but suddenly his mind wondered to a fantasy of Claire doing the same thing in front of him. The image of the tight leather outfit she currently had on flooding his sense. Tony's eyes widened when he realized what was happening and mentally shook the image out of his head. Where did that come from?! Stay focused on the job Tony, he mentally scolded himself.

"I could make a fortune on the internet with this." Abby commented as she snapped a picture of the girl's face off of Tony's feed.

 **"** **Ok got it."** She told Tony, but on the feed Tony continued watching her dance.

 **"** **Next."** Gibbs told him with a stern tone. Claire couldn't help but let out a low growl as she listened to the conversation. Tony had no right to ogle other girls. Taking a deep breath, she walked on and kept doing her job.

"Right boss, just being thorough." Tony stuttered as he grudgingly moved to the next girl. The three agents made their way towards different dancers in the club while 'Toxic' from Brittany spears played on the speakers. Kate spotted another girl and started moving in.

 **"** **That's it."** Gibbs muttered as he watched her feed. Abby took another photo and zoomed in so they could see the girl's face better. Tony continued walking around like he was in heaven and scanned the room for another girl to watch.

Abby took another shot and zoomed in on the picture from Tony's feed.

Kate awkwardly and nervously made her way through the dancing crowd. Her catholic roots showing through a little bit as she attempted dance moves as she walked closer to another dancer on stage. Claire noticed this and tried to hold in a giggle at her friend's obvious discomfort.

Abby took two more shots of the two girls on Kate's feed. Tony nudged his way around while scoping out someone new. He stood in front on a blonde and watched her for a few moments so they could get her picture, which Abby did. After they got it Tony still stood there with his new drink and a goofy grin on his face, continuing to watch them dance.

 **"** **I'm watching you DiNozzo."** Gibbs reminded as he watched the feed. Tony's grin dropped off his face and he shuffled away. Claire walked over to another dancer and had to get a little closer than usual for a clear shot.

"How does that look?" she muttered so they could hear her.

 **"** **Get a little closer."** Abby instructed. Claire moved closer and to the dancer's face was on.

"This better?" she asked.

 **"** **One second."** Abby muttered.

The dancer noticed Claire and shot her a smile. Playing along with her part she smiled back with a wink. Gibbs chuckled at what he was seeing on Claire's feed.

"Did you get it yet?" she asked again. No offense to the girls but she was very straight and acting interested made her feel weird. The dancer continued dancing for her and put her butt near her face. Claire's eyes widened in alarm as she glanced down at it before she looked back up towards her face. The dancer sent her a lusty gaze complete with licking her lips sensuously at Claire. Abby snapped the picture at that moment.

 **"** **Wow Claire, how'd you get her to do that?"** Abby asked teasingly. Gibbs grinned at their banter. Tony however was unamused at what he was hearing. What was Claire doing?

"All part of my charm babe." Claire chuckled as she shuffled away from the dancer. Tony continued skimming the crowd when Gibbs noticed something on his feed.

 **"** **DiNozzo go back to the last booth."** Gibbs quickly instructed. Tony turned his head back around and focused on a booth with a man and a girl on each side of him.

 **"** **Yea right there."** Gibbs told him.

"That Hitch?" Tony asked. With the crowd he couldn't see as much as the cameras could with the zoom. McGee snapped a picture and ran it through recognition software. It matched up with Ian Hitch.

 **"** **That's him."** McGee confirmed. Suddenly the DJ started shouting down to the crowd who looked up at him.

"What's up party people!? Tonight is hot but it's only gonna get hotter because only the best get into T's. I'm DJ Nightrap, and I'm gonna get off the mic because I know who you came here to see. Jade!" he announced and everyone turned to the stage at the back of the room. A single spotlight shone on the silver strands that covered the back of the stage. A pretty dark skinned girl dressed in a tight, gold, leather suit strutted out onto the stage. Kate's expression dropped as she recognized the girl.

"That's Samantha King." Kate told the team in shock. Back at MTAC they all watched Kate's feed as Samantha started singing a pop tune. Claire made her way back to stand by Tony who was bopping his head to the beat, the girl had a great voice.

 **"** **Hey Tony stop jumping up and down we can't see."** Gibbs scolded.

Claire reached over and put her hand on his head and Tony immediately stopped his head bobbing. Samantha continued her song and danced a little. Once the show ended the crowd clapped except for Kate who was still in shock that the victim's sister worked here.

 **Claire's POV:**

When the show ended we all decided to stick around to have a talk with Miss Samantha and find out what's going on around here. After an hour or so Samantha left the club and walked across the street towards her car to go home. When she got to the side lot the three of us were leaning up against our own car, waiting on her.

"You're taking your sister's death pretty hard Jade." Kate commented as she came into view.

"What are you doing here?" Samantha asked coldly. However, it just looked like an act to me.

"The question is what are _you_ doing here?" Kate countered. She was much more persistent than usual. Samantha's tough façade dropped a little as she glanced over nervously towards the bouncers who were watching us from across the street at the back of the club. Tony followed her line of sight.

"What are you afraid of?" he asked, the two of us stepping up beside Kate.

"Who are you two?" Samantha asked a little gentler this time.

"Same as Kate." I nodded my head toward her. Tony looked at the two of us for a moment.

"Well, not exactly." He added jokingly.

"Answer my question," Kate prodded. Samantha gave her a look. _This isn't going to be an easy interrogation like we hoped._

"It's Saturday night, I sing here ok." She answered with attitude. It was obvious that she wanted to be rid of us before something happened.

"You sing the day after your sister is murdered?" Kate asked not believing her explanation. Samantha didn't say anything but turned to walk away.

"I gotta go." She muttered. Tony blocked her path.

"Not unless we get some answers." He told her. Samantha slid by him and continued to her car. Tony gave me a 'she's hiding something' look before we walked after her.

"You know how we found you?" Kate asked as Samantha kept walking.

"We were here looking for your sister's murderer." I told her. This made Samantha pause in front of her car.

"You said you had her murderer." she said with confusion as she turned back to us.

"He didn't do it." Tony told her.

"What's going on Jade?" came a male voice from behind us. I glanced over and saw that three of the big bouncers from the club had made their way over.

 **Tony's POV:**

"We're just talking." I answered without turning around. I glanced at Claire and she looked a little nervous. Obviously, these guys were bad news. I slowly reached for my gun hidden under my jacket. Since the girls had to wear skimpier clothing, they couldn't sneak it into the club like I did.

"Not no more you ain't." The man said walking towards us. He grabbed Claire's arm and I snapped. Whipped around and placed one hand on the man's chest and the other held the gun to parallel to his head starting to push the man backwards. No one grabs my partner like that.

"Hands off bud! And yea, I think we are." I corrected with a threatening tone. For some reason my brain could only process two things at this moment. _Hands off Claire, and THEY'RE REALLY BIG DUDES!_ Like they were freaking double my size! However, I kept my composer and my gun in check.

"My partner LuLu, she wants to sign Jade to a record contract." I informed them as we kept walking backwards, away from the girls.

"Bulldog ain't gonna like that." The head bouncer calmly told me.

"Twinkle Toes, Candy Pants stay behind your mommy here." I instructed the other two bouncers to back a little ways away from the head guy while calling them names. With all this adrenaline I had suddenly gotten braver. Then I remembered something that I had to clarify.

"Where'd Bulldog get his name?" I asked the man curiously.

"When he gets his teeth into a girl's ass…..he never lets go." The bouncer responded with a chuckle.

"I knew it." I muttered excitedly. I totally called it!

"Hey LuLu, Nikki, I was right about Bulldog!" I called back to the girls.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Samantha let out a shaky sigh.

"You're gonna get me killed." She lowly muttered to Kate while glancing at the standoff on the side.

"Just like your sister was? Look we think Hitch had her killed. Why?" Kate asked her harshly but quietly so the men couldn't hear her.

"No, he wouldn't do that." Samantha denied. Claire rolled her eyes.

"I mean he knew she wanted to leave this life, but he wouldn't kill her." Samantha insisted to them.

"Wouldn't he?" Claire suggested, leaving her to think about it.

"Let's go Bruce, she's not interested." Kate called to Tony, while walking to their car.

"No harm no foul." Tony told the men while still holding the gun towards them. He walked back to the car with the gun up until he got to the passenger side. Once he hopped in the car he started freaking out a little.

"Gosh those guys were big. Big, big. Big , big…." He muttered nervously as he shut the door and they drove away. Claire leaned forward with a fond smile. She noticed what he had done.

"You were very brave against the big, bad men." She cooed with a baby voice. Tony rolled his eyes but chuckled regardless. Claire leaned forward and kissed his cheek making him freeze up a little.

"Thanks Tony." She whispered into his ear.

"You know that this is going in my little journal for when we have the meeting with Ducky." Tony joked, covering up his blush. Claire laughed and sat back into her seat. The rest of the ride was silent. Kate had noticed the interaction but decided not to comment on it. She decided to let the moment go undisturbed.


	18. Chapter 18

[Pop Life 2]

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at the NCIS office, Gibbs was setting out pictures of Hitch's girls from the surveillance videos we had taken. Willie Taylor was seated at Gibb's desk so he could possibly pick out the girl he did go home with.

"She's cute….…oh man she's hot….." Willie commented as Gibbs set the pictures in front of him. It took a lot of effort not to roll my eyes.

"Oh she's real hot…wait…." Willie paused as he squinted at the picture that had just been set down. We all looked at it curiously and saw that it was a picture of….…me?! Before I could react Tony lunged at the picture and practically growled at Willie. My eyes widened in surprise as I wasn't expecting that reaction. Especially from Tony.

"Focus on the task at hand Taylor." he snapped and trashed the picture of me. I desperately tried to hide my blush as I watched Tony defend my honor…..so to speak. I knew that he was aware of his actions since he didn't make eye contact with me. Willie held his hands up in surrender and continued looking through the pictures.

"I don't know about you, but I sleep with a lot of women so….." He mused, indicating that this was going to be hard to pick out the one that set him up. Kate rolled her eyes in disgust while I pursed my lips in distaste….Men…

"I wouldn't know anything about that Willie, I'm a Mormon." Tony told him with a serious tone. Gibbs just gave Tony a 'we all know that's a lie' look but Willie didn't notice and stared up at him in surprise.

"Oh…oh I'm sorry." He apologized with a nervous laugh, thinking he had offended Tony. Tony sent me an amused look at how gullible this guy was. I couldn't help but let out a small giggle because it was pretty funny.

"Um well I think it could be this one right here, but I was really drunk so…" Willie pointed to one of the pictures and looked up at Gibbs. The fact that it's hard to determine the girl you slept with is disturbing.

"Sit down." Gibbs pushed him back into the desk chair a little roughly. We couldn't afford any maybes. Gibbs leaned down towards Willie's face.

"You're going to have to do better." he told Willie with his signature glare.

"Look I'm doing the best I can alright." Willie argued. Gibbs continued to stare. With a reluctant sigh Willie rolled forward to look closer at the pictures before him. He rubbed his hands together and started sorting through the pictures again. After a moment Willie picked up the picture that he had pointed out before.

"Yea, I think that's her," he insisted more confidently this time.

"Summer Diamond, she's very hot." Tony muttered, earning a dirty look from me.

"You THINK it's her?" Gibbs asked with a hard look. Willie went to say something but Tony started talking first.

"Look there's always something about every woman that you remember. Something small or subtle, something you're going to remember 20 years later." Tony started. Kate had been scratching her head in frustration but paused to look over at Tony curiously as he explained this phenomenon. I couldn't help but stare at him too, where was all this coming from? Tony didn't seem to notice the looks and kept going.

"A piece of jewelry, a laugh, something." Willie looked up at him with a small smirk.

"A smell?..." Tony wondered aloud. Kate grunted in disgust.

"Uh I feel like I've died and woke up in a Calvin Cline add." Kate muttered with distaste. I snorted in agreement. However, I also found his words…romantic…in a weird way.

"I thought you were a Mormon?" Willie pointed out in confusion. Oops.

"Concentrate Willie." Tony countered with a 'drop it' look. Willie thought for a moment before a smile broke out across his face.

"Ah yea…she had a tat. How could I forget." He chuckled.

"What did it look like?" Tony prodded with a curious smile.

"It was a bulldog….it was right there on her ass." Willie continued with a smug smile.

"Sweet slick Willie, look at that. Now the devil is in the details." Tony chuckled while pointing at Willie approvingly. Kate and I glared at him.

"You know I met this girl once, and she squeaked. She made this little *squeak*…" Tony smirked at his story before noticing Kate's glare had turned into a look of utter disgust. Not this story again….

"Tony? Do you wanna tell Ducky that story?" Kate threatened on my behalf, or so she thought.

"Ducky's already heard it, we all have." I told her. Kate's eyebrows skyrocketed, but I just shrugged.

"It's a good story." Tony protested his point.

"Then tell it to Kate while you're bringing in Summer Diamond." Gibbs countered. With a look Tony and Kate left to go pick her up.

"Wait Don't I get to hear it?!" Willie called as they walked away. I groaned in annoyance and walked over to my desk to do better things.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

They brought Summer Diamond into interrogation and Gibbs set out a photo of Willie Taylor in front of her.

"Do you recognize this guy?" Gibbs asked.

"Nope." Summer immediately answered while looking up at Gibbs the whole time.

"He works at Sugar Street. Ever been there?" Gibbs continued unaffected by her bluntness.

"I work 6 nights a week at T's. The last place I'm going to go on my night off is another club." She told him. Gibbs tilted his head in acknowledgement before pulling out another picture.

"You recognize this?" Gibbs asked as he set the picture of her butt with the bulldog tattoo on it.

"Agent Conners took that photo." he explained to her.

From the observation room. Claire was standing at the mirror while Tony leaned against the computer desk.

"It is of your rear end." They heard Gibbs continue.

"You always get the best jobs." Tony pouted. Claire rolled her eyes and didn't even reward him with a glance.

"Willie described it perfectly." Gibbs told Summer.

"I dance practically naked. Hundreds of guys have seen my ass." she told him bitterly.

"So you didn't sleep with him two nights ago?" Gibbs asked her.

"No." she answered with a confused look as to why he was asking about that.

"Willie says he's never been to your club. You know what? I believe him." Gibbs told her. Summer leaned forward.

"Every dancer in the club has that tat. It means we're in Bulldog's crew." She explained venomously.

"I thought he'd use a bite mark." Gibbs joked dryly. Just then someone knocked on the door.

"Enter." Gibbs called. Abby walked into the room with some swabs.

"We have a court order for a DNA sample Ms. Diamond." Gibbs told her. Summer looked over at the stuff warily.

"Open your mouth." Abby gently ordered.

"It doesn't hurt." She assured. Summer rolled her eyes but opened her mouth for Abby to swab her cheek.

After the interrogation Gibbs and Abby walked out and down the hallway.

"Compare the DNA to the condoms found in Willie Taylor's apartment." Gibbs told her.

"Jethro!" Ducky hurriedly called from behind them. Gibbs turned around and walked to Ducky who was waving him over.

"I need you, I need you like NOW." Ducky told him and they made their way to the autopsy.

Down in autopsy Ducky showed Gibbs that there were imprints in Petty Officer King's nose that showed a funnel was shoved down it. Someone had held her down and pumped meth into her nose forcefully, and that's what killed her. It wasn't suicide, it was murder.

 **Claire's POV:**

Once we had found out about it being murder I decided to go by myself and talk to Samantha King. I figured she would respond to some one on one questioning instead of a whole crowd. I had gotten her to agree to meet with me and now were sitting in a small café. The shop was practically vacant with only a couple other people in the room for privacy. Samantha nervously ran her hands over the coffee mug in front of her.

"Do you know what will happen if he finds out I'm talking to you?" She asked me nervously.

"Don't you wanna know how your sister died Samantha?" I countered.

"She was stabbed?" she answered unsure.

"Yes she was, but that wasn't what killed her." I gently explained.

"Your sister was restrained and methamphetamine was forced down her nose and her throat. Her heart failed." I continued with a very serious demeanor. This girl needed to get it through her skull that Ian was bad news.

"Oh my.." Samantha muttered, now close to tears. She shook her head in shock.

"Willie Taylor believes that he has been framed for her murder by your boss, Ian Hitch." I continued while she took it all in. Samantha looked at me with a conflicted expression.

"Bulldog wouldn't, he…" she began to protest before I cut her off.

"Why not? Sugar Street gets declared off limits, and club T's gets a whole slew of new clientele." I told her, to further prove my point. Samantha looked down at the table in thought.

"But that isn't why it happened. Is it Samantha?" I prodded. I could tell by the look on her face that she knew something. Samantha let out a shaky breath.

"My mom died when I was three, Agent Conners. Amanda practically raised me. When she found out I was working for Hitch she lost it." She explained.

"How did you get hooked up with a guy like that?" I asked with a shake of my head.

"Ian said that he had connections with record companies, that he's make me a star….I believed him." She confessed not making eye contact with me.

"But your sister didn't." I added in understanding. Now it was making sense. Samantha bit her lip.

"She was always the smart one in the family." She muttered wryly.

"Why didn't you just walk away?" I asked.

"I signed a contract with him. Amanda was trying to get me out of it." Samantha explained.

"And he had her killed." I finished for her. Samantha bit her lip again.

"Look we've got to get you someplace safe…." I started but this time Samantha cut me off.

"Look you don't get it!" she adamantly protested and lowered her voice to a whisper.

"Hitch owns me. I sing when he wants, dance when he wants…I sleep with him when he wants." She added after a thick swallow. I just sat there listening to her explanation.

"No one walks away from him, ever." Samantha finished with glassy eyes. I still don't get why she defends him.

"He murdered your sister Samantha." I protested, giving her a hard look.

"And you'll never prove it, they never do." She countered back with a scoff. Suddenly Samantha's phone started ringing. She flipped it open and looked at the caller ID and took in a sharp breath.

"It's him." Samantha muttered worriedly.

"Don't answer." I told her. Samantha let out a heavy sigh.

"I have to." She said and answered the phone. I could hear the conversation.

"What are you doing love?" Hitch asked her.

"Some shopping baby."

"Really? Looks like you're having a spot of tea to me." Samantha straightened up and looked out the window behind her. She hung up the phone and I saw Ian and some of his bouncers walking towards the shop. _Crap, I wasn't expecting him to show up here._ Samantha quickly turned back towards me in fear.

"If he finds out you're a cop, I am dead." she harshly told me. _If he finds out I'm a cop, I'm not gonne be any better off either._ I calmly pulled out my gun and had it ready under the table just in case I needed it while Samantha fixed herself so it didn't look like she had been crying. Ian and his men walked into the store. I didn't say anything but looked up at him warily. He walked over to our table and put his hands on Samantha's shoulder in a possessive manner.

"Nikki I presume?" he asked me and I shot him a polite smile.

"Did you get my message last night? Jade already has a manager." Ian told me while I noticed him gripping Samantha's shoulders tighter. This man was dangerously possessive, I noted.

"That's what I told her Ian." Samantha piped up.

"Did I ask you to speak love?" Ian scolded without looking away from me, who was eyeing Ian's body language. He stepped around to take a seat across from me without breaking eye contact. We continued our staring competition. He wasn't about to intimidate me.

"So tell me, what label do you scout for?" Ian asked with a fake smile. I smiled back at him and let out a laugh.

"Well that's none of your business." I countered sternly.

"Oh, but it is if you're after my property." Ian argued as he grabbed Samantha's hand on the table. She gave me a nervous look. I glanced over at the girl in thought.

"Is she available?" I asked Ian with a nod

"Only to me." Ian answered with a hard stare. I raised a brow at him, not wanting to seem intimidated.

"Say goodbye to Nikki love." Ian ordered while still trying to intimidate me by flaunting is larger size.

"Goodbye Nikki." She complied in a small voice. The two of them got up to leave, Ian holding tightly to her arm. He turned back around towards me.

"You and your friends Bruce and LuLu might want to leave town." He threatened politely.

"Tonight." He added and walked out the door with his crew. I sat there and glared at his back.

The next day I walked into work, acting like nothing had happened. I heard the elevator ding and saw Gibbs walk towards the bullpen, coffee in hand. He stopped in front of my desk and gave me a scolding stare.

"You should have had backup yesterday Claire." He told me. I was caught slightly off guard and shifted in my chair. _How did he find out?_ No use hiding it anymore.

"Well I didn't expect Hitch to show up Gibbs." I amended. Gibbs wasn't hearing it and stared at me.

"It won't happen again." I quickly told him.

"I know." Gibbs told me with a nod. It was more of an order than a statement. He turned and walked to the front of Tim's desk. Tony sent me an admonishing glare from his desk but I ignored it.

"McGee how'd he track her?" Gibbs asked.

"Well uh Samantha's cell phone is registered to Ian Hitch, so probably using the embedded GPS to keep tabs on her location." McGee explained. Gibbs nodded and took a sip of his coffee before continuing.

"Paranoid." He muttered.

"Kinda reminded me of someone." Tony commented. Gibbs gave him a questioning look.

"What I meant was, most managers are afraid of losing their stars. With a voice like that Samantha could be the next Brandy." Tony elaborated.

"What's a brandy?" Gibbs asked as he sat down in his desk chair. Kate shot him a curious look while I tried not to face palm.

"Uh she's a singer and an actress, boss." McGee answered. From his facial expression it was obvious Gibbs still didn't know who it was.

"She's very very hot." Tony added.

"The point is…." I started, affectively cutting off Tony.

"Hitch isn't going to let her go. He'll kill her first." I explained worriedly. Just then Gibb's desk phone rang.

"Yea Gibbs." He answered. We all watched as his expression turned serious.

"We're on our way." He told the person on the other line and hung up. He took in a breath as we waited for the news.

"Norfolk homicide found the body of a young woman. She had my card in her bra." Gibbs told us with a hard look. We all automatically had a good guess of who it was. I think I just jinxed it.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the crime scene the medical examiner lifted the sheet to reveal Summer Diamond, the girl they recently had in for questioning.

"Just ID'd her. Keisha Scott. It looks like a hit and run Gibbs." The detective told him. It was the same one that was at the scene where Amanda King was found. Gibbs bent down next to him.

"Her club name is Summer Diamond, she was in our interrogation room yesterday." Gibbs elaborated.

"Willie Taylor ID'd her as the girl he had sex with, not Petty Officer King." Kate added.

"She cop to it?" the detective asked.

"If she did, she'd be in NCIS custody instead of dead." Gibbs commented. So that was a 'no'.

"Any chance this was an accident?" the detective asked, seemingly knowing the answer.

"Nope" Gibbs immediately told him.

"Ian Hitch is involved." Kate added.

"Bulldog?" the detective asked looking up at her. He let out a tired sigh.

"That explains a lot." He mused.

"No witnesses, nobody in the neighborhood heard anything last night. He's got this part of town in his pocket." The man told the agents. This peaked Gibb's suspicion.

"Yea? How about you?" He asked the detective with an accusing tone. The detective gave him a bitter smile.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that Gibbs." The man told him.

"Either way, I'm taking him down." Gibbs assured.

"You MIGHT find who did this. But connecting him to bulldog? Nuh uh, ain't gonna happen." The detective countered.

"Well no, not if you keep letting them scape this area." Gibbs told him with a sarcastic tone.

"Hey I've been down this road before Gibbs. I bring them in for questioning, his lawyer will have them out before lunch." The detective assured. Gibbs stood up, with the detective following.

"I've got a better idea."

"Yea?"

"Yea. You turn jurisdiction over to me this time." Gibbs offered. The detective thought about it a moment.

"Well you've got it." He agreed and the two shook hands.

"How soon can you get the rest of your team here?" the man asked.

"Oh pretty soon." Gibbs told him with a mischievous glint in his eye. He leaned around the detective and whistled. Immediately the big NCIS van turned the corner and pulled up to the crime scene.

 **Claire's POV:**

Ducky and Palmer were examining the body while Tony and I took pictures of the body and crime scene.

"There's no way this was a hit and run boss. She's practically naked and it was 35 degrees this morning." Tony explained. I sighed and looked back down at the mangled body. It's hard to believe we had just talked to her yesterday. Ducky leaned over and pointed to some massive bruising on the girl's arms.

"You see that Mr. Palmer? Someone was holding her arms tightly before her death. Enough to cause these bruises." He explained as Tony got in closer for some pictures.

"She was shoved in front of a vehicle?" I asked.

"It's possible, I'll know more when I get the poor girl back home." Ducky told me.

"We've got some broken glass over here." Kate called from down the alley a little way. Gibbs walked over to look.

"Looking at the thickness, it may be a headlight." Kate elaborated.

"Bag it." Gibbs ordered, as I took some photos of the glass shards. McGee was writing down the list of evidence over to the side.

"McGee"

"Yea boss"

"The locals think it was a hit and run, what about you?" Gibbs asked the Tim. McGee jerked his head up with a questioningly. Tony and I glanced between the two of them. Time for little Timmy's pop quiz.

"Me?" he asked as he looked at the crime scene.

"Um….me, uh…." Tim continued looking around the crime scene as he nervously thought.

"Answer the man Probie." Tony prodded. McGee turned to look at Gibbs with a determined expression. I smiled. He knew the right answer.

"I don't think so." McGee confidently concluded. The three of us glanced at Gibbs.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well there are no skid marks before or after the body. Whoever hit her didn't even slow down." McGee explained. Gibbs smiled.

"Kate and Tony pick up Samantha, make sure her cellphone is off. Don't tell her about Summer." Gibbs ordered as he walked away. McGee looked over at me with wide eyes to see if he was right. I gave him a big smile and thumbs up.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In the bullpen, a surveillance picture of Ian Hitch was up on the plasma in the center of the room. Gibbs pointed an accusing finger at it.

"I wanna know where this dirt bag was the night Petty Officer King was murdered. I want to know where he was last night when Summer 'decided to go for a walk' half naked." He spat. McGee nodded.

"You've got it boss." The elevator doors opened to reveal Kate, Tony, and Samantha.

"This is supposed to be my day off. How do you know Hitch won't find out I'm here instead of at the hospital with my father?" she asked them in annoyance.

"He won't" Claire told her from her desk.

"When our computer geek is done with your phone it will show that you were with him all day." Tony told her.

"Probie!" he called to McGee as he tossed him Samantha's phone.

"Break the GPS chip. Location Norfolk Hospital, from noon to 1730" Tony told him as he hung up his coat and gun.

"He can do that?" Samantha asked in surprise.

"Sure." Tim responded and went to work. Tony, Claire and Kate stood on either side of Ms. King in front of Gibb's desk.

"I've already told your people I'm not talking about this Agent Gibbs. Can we please make this quick." She asked with slight attitude.

"You're not here to talk. You're here to see." Gibbs answered without looking at her.

"What?" she questioned softly.

"A friend" he vaguely elaborated as He got up from his desk and let them down to autopsy.

 **Claire's POV:**

In autopsy Gibbs opened up the body bag to reveal Summer's face. Samantha held her hand over her mouth to muffle her quiet sobs. Kate and Gibbs were watching her from one side of the table while Tony and I leaned against the one behind her.

"This can't be happening." She muttered. Tony and Kate watched her with sympathetic eyes but I was still wary. How is she not aware of any of this?

"How did this.."

"How do you think?" Gibbs harshly cut her off.

"She has a two year old, even Bulldog couldn't…."

"Bulldog is tying up loose ends Samantha." This time Tony cut off her protesting. We still weren't getting through to her.

"All you have to do is cooperate with us and well take him out of your life for good." Kate told her.

"I can't! Don't you understand?" Samantha brokenly told us.

"Your sister is in the freezer, maybe you'd like to say goodbye." Gibbs coldly told her as he walked over and opened up one of the drawers. He was obviously done coddling her. It's time to grow up.

"Summer talked to you, that's why she's lying on that slab!" Samantha raised and accusatory finger at Gibbs.

"It's not happening to me." She insisted.

"Your right. It's happening because of you." Gibbs told her with his icy stare. Samantha set her jaw and backed away from him.

"Ok, either charge me with something or I'm out of here." She ordered. Gibbs didn't say anything.

"Now!" she added sternly. In the end we didn't have anything so we all walked back up to the bullpen. But the team wasn't done just yet.

"You're making a big mistake Samantha." I told her as we followed behind.

"You walk out those doors, we can't protect you." Kate added. McGee saw us coming and stood up.

"Boss, Hitch has got a very good alibi for last night." He told Gibbs. This made Samantha stop in her tracks to listen.

"He was in New York promoting his club." Tim showed him some social media photos.

"These photos here are from the gossip page of the Eastside this morning. Um I checked with the airlines, he didn't get back until 11:00 today." McGee further explained. We all had confused facial expressions while Samantha kept on a poker face. Who else could it be besides Ian? Samantha scoffed.

"He always wins." She commented as she picked up her phone from Tim's desk.

"I tried to tell my sister that, and she didn't listen. I hope you do before I end up dead too." Samantha continued as she marched toward the elevators. She gave us a hard look as she walked away.

Later that day in the bullpen I watched as Tony was leaning over McGee's head as he worked.

"Are you done yet?" Tony asked with a mouth full of cookie. Tim looked straight ahead with an annoyed look as he felt some crumbs drop into his hair. Tony noticed and tried to wipe them all out, looking a bit like an idiot. I felt bad for Tim.

"I'm going as fast as I can." McGee muttered. He rolled his eyes while Tony harshly wiped his head.

"Do you mind?" Tim asked testily.

"No." Tony shook his head childishly. McGee sighed and went back to work. He worked a few more seconds before speaking again.

"Now I'm done." Tim told Tony.

"Ok put it on the plasma screen, Probie." Tony mumbled as he darted away. Once he was gone McGee shook out his hair, hoping to get rid of the left over crumbs. Tony walked over towards Kate and pointed to the cookie happily.

"Oh, did you really make these yourself Kate?" he sincerely asked.

"I did." She said with a smile.

"They're delicious." I commented with a smile. They really were fantastic. Kate smile gratefully at me.

"I didn't know you could cook." Tony continued as he took another bite.

"Well technically its baking, and there's a lot about me you don't know Tony." Kate told him with a sarcastic smile. Tony pointed at her in acknowledgement and walked back towards the plasma screen.

"Hey Kate could I try one?" McGee nicely asked from across the bullpen. He reminded me of a little kid asking a parent for desert.

"Of course McGee." Kate beamed and pulled out the tin to hand him one.

"I made enough for all…" she started but stopped when she looked down and saw that there was only one left. My jaw dropped and I covered my mouth, trying not to laugh. _Did Tony really eat that much?_

"Tony, there were a dozen in here." She scolded walking towards him. McGee gave him a look.

"They're really delicious." He turned his head away from the plasma to tell her. Just to rub it in Tony licked his lips. Before Kate could continue another voice spoke up.

"Ok what do you have for me?" Gibbs asked as he walked in.

"We have been keeping tabs on Samantha King's location boss." McGee answered. Gibbs saw the cookies and grabbed the last one from the tin.

"Um, I think that one was for…"McGee protested and stopped when Gibbs gave him that look. McGee looked back at the screen.

"When I rigged the GPS system in her phone, I also downloaded the code. So now we can follow her anywhere she goes." They watched the marker move down the road on the screen.

"She's 20 miles from Norfolk, down on route 64." Tony noticed. Gibbs held up the cookie to McGee.

"Good work McGee, that's a good job." Gibbs praised. Tim beamed and took the cookie from him.

"Thank you, boss. But actually it was Tony's idea." McGee corrected. I closed my eyes. He shouldn't have said that. Gibbs turned back around and took the cookie from McGee just before he could bite into it. _See now you lost your cookie._

"I'm impressed DiNozzo." Gibbs commented. Tony held out his hand with a smile waiting for his cookie.

"Just trying to help out boss." He gloated. Gibbs turned and took a bite out of the cookie, walking back to his desk. Kate's mouth opened and she smiled back at Tony in shock. Tony's face dropped.

"That's so not right!" he whisper shouted to me.

"Well it's probably for the best." I told him with mock sympathy and patted his stomach. Tony scowled at my not so veiled insult.

"McGee, Abby needs help. Tony, Kate, and Claire you're with me." Gibbs told us.

"Where are we going?" Kate asked while rushing to her desk.

"Norfolk, we're going to pay Ian Hitch a visit." Gibbs told us, his voice muffled from the cookie in his mouth.

"What about blowing our cover as talent scouts?" I asked as we made their way to the elevator.

"Samantha is leaving with us." Gibbs told them. Tony looked confused.

"She changed her mind, boss?" he asked

"It does not matter, I'm not letting her end up like her sister downstairs." Gibbs told them and all three of us walked into the elevator.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in autopsy Palmer and Abby were setting up the machine that they were going to use to try and get fingerprints off of Summer's body. It was a big glass box around the body with tubes and hoses attached to it.

"So uh, how is this supposed to work exactly?" Palmer eagerly asked. Abby stood up straight with a contemplative look.

"Good question. I've never actually done it on a body before." She told him.

"We'll figure it out together Jimmy." Abby told him with a mock dramatic expression. Palmer smiled and leaned on the machine.

"Oh please, call me Jimmy." He told her slightly star struck. Abby gave him a look.

"I just did." She explained.

"Oh….sorry I guess I didn't hear you." He played off. Abby turned around and bit her lip, trying not to laugh at his embarrassment. They walked over to a side table where the other equipment was.

"So this stuff is basically superglue. It bonds instantly with almost anything, and then it's heated the vapors are attracted to proteins and…" Abby rambled off as she set it up, unaware to Palmer's admiring stare.

"…and when they dry you can just peel them off like a sticker." Abby finished explaining. Palmer leaned forward to compliment her but knocked over the bowl full of superglue onto the floor. Palmer stuttered out apologies as he picked the bowl back up and bent down to help clean up. Abby bent down too, causing them to bump heads. Abby hit the floor with an annoyed expression, but was too nice to say anything just yet. Palmer used his hands to push himself back up.

"I'm sorry it's my fault." He laughed off, while Abby composed herself. He got up and offered his hands to help her up. Abby reached forward and they clasped forearms, to pull her upright.

"Um, you know maybe this would be easier if I did this by myself." She gently explained.

"Only trying to observe." Palmer assured with a nervous laugh. Abby nodded her head and paused. Their arms were still attached.

"You can let go of my arms now." She told him.

"Right.." he agreed with a dazed expression before snapping out of it.

"Oh uh…" he tried to yank them off but had gotten superglue on his hands when he made the mess. Now they were stuck.

"I'm trying." He told her.

"Well try harder." She scolded and started pulling backwards. However Palmer had the autopsy booties on which gave him no traction on his shoes. So when she muttered angrily and was pulling back, he was sliding along after her. Just as they made it in front of the doors McGee walked in. His expression dropped as he saw Palmer slide into Abby. They both froze and looked at him.

"Palmer what the hell are you doing?!" McGee shouted. Palmer chuckled nervously under McGee's glare.

"McGee acetone and band aids. Fast!" Abby calmly told him. McGee reluctantly went up to get the supplies, still very made at Jimmy.

 **Claire's POV:**

In the car Kate was on her PDA, still tracking Samantha.

"Samantha's back at the club." She told Gibbs.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs called but there was no answer. I looked up from my phone and glanced at Tony who was in the backseat with me. He was dead to the world…..and was even snoring.

"I'll wake him up." I offered as I rolled my eyes.

"No, no. I got a better idea." Gibbs smirked. Kate raised a brow in anticipation.

"Hold on." He warned. I quickly readjusted my seatbelt. In an instant Gibbs accelerated and then stomped on the brake. Tony grunted in discomfort as he was jerked awake. Kate and I chuckled as we saw his dazed and frightened expression. This is why I would never feel safe enough to fall asleep when Gibbs is driving the car.

"Bad dream Tony?" I teased.

"I thought….I thought…." Tony muttered in a daze, still waking up and trying to get his brain to function properly. It was actually really cute to watch. He looked so helpless.

"Call Abby, see if she got any prints off the body." Gibbs told him. Tony blinked a couple times before dialing the number. Kate over at Gibbs and chuckled.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In Abby's lab she was processing the fingerprint she had gotten off the victim.

"You know you didn't have to yell at him. Jimmy is terrified of you now." Abby told McGee. McGee looked at her with an impressed smile.

"He is?" he asked a little eagerly.

"Cool." he muttered proudly. It wasn't often that someone actually feared him.

"This is the last print, it's a partial from the right bruise." Abby told him as she put the fingerprint on the scanner.

"Any luck with the print from the left arm, He-man?" Abby asked him with a playful smirk. McGee smiled.

"Still running them through AFIS." He told her. Abby gave him a stern look and Tim sighed.

"Look, I'll apologize to him later." He assured. Just then the computer went off. The print was from one of Hitch's bouncers. Richard 'Blue' McGinty.

 **Claire's POV:**

"Alright thanks Abby." Tony hung up after they had told him about the print.

"Yea they got a print from Summer's body. It's the bouncer from outside the club the other night." Tony told us. With that Gibbs sped off toward the club. The three of us pulled up close to the club building and made their way through the back alleys towards it. That way they wouldn't see us coming. We came up the back entrance.

"She's inside." Kate told us as she glanced at her PDA. Just as we were about to walk up the stairs gunshots went off. We all crouched down instinctively and pulled out our own guns. In formation we made our way up the stairs and passed by the screaming girls inside. Gibbs and Kate took the lead while Tony and I backed them up. At the very end of the hall was a big metal door. Gibbs turned the handle and rushed inside. He looked up and saw Blue with a gun.

"Put the weapon down." Gibbs ordered.

"He was gonna kill her. I didn't have a choice." Blue explained calmly. Beside him was a teary Samantha.

"Drop it." Gibbs ordered again. This time he complied. We all looked over and saw a dead Ian Hitch with a gun in his hand. Tony cuffed the bouncer while Kate took care of Samantha. At least that's over.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back in the lab Abby and McGee were looking at the DNA tests that still came out negative.

"You have all the evidence ready to ship to Norfolk?" Claire asked as she walked in with Abby's Caf-pow.

"Almost." McGee told her.

"This might be a problem though, Claire." Abby added as she turned back to the screen. Claire's face scrunched up in confusion.

"What kind of problem?" she asked walking up behind Abby.

"I got back Summer Diamond's DNA and it does not match the DNA we got off the condoms from the first crime scene." Abby explained.

"She didn't set Willie Taylor up." Claire realized.

"Nope." Tim concurred.

"The weird thing is, I did get a near match from the armed forces registry." Abby showed her the 70% match.

"He was set up by a sailor?" Abby suggested in confusion. Claire thought for a moment. Not a sailor…..but 70% match pointed more to a sibling. Her eyes widened as she realized what this meant, and rushed upstairs to alert her boss and team.

At the hospital Samantha was tending to her dying father. The agents came in and Gibbs walked into the room while Tony, Kate, and Claire stood outside.

"We need to talk." Gibbs told her.

"Outside." He added with a whisper. Samantha complied. She walked over to the group and didn't notice the glares she was getting.

"He only has a few hours left Agent Gibbs. Is this about Blue?" she asked them.

"It's about you." He told her.

"Summer Diamond didn't set your sister up." Gibbs explained. Samantha looked confused but Gibbs continued.

"Were you gonna split the money with Blue?" he asked her.

"Or record a demo with it?" Kate added. Samantha looked at them, still trying to keep her poker face.

"We know Samantha, your big sister told us." Tony glared at her.

"Or more specifically, her DNA. There's a 70% match found on the condoms in Willie Taylor's apartment." Kate added.

"Only a sibling. Could be that close." Claire finished for her. Before Samantha could protest, Kate kept going.

"We had access to your phone Samantha." She pointed out.

"Guess where the GPS chip puts you the night when your sister and Summer Diamond died?" Claire asked rhetorically.

"Setting up Ian Hitch was a nice touch." Gibbs commented.

"Gets you out of that crappy contract you signed, and you get all of your dad's money." Tony finished. Samantha's jaw was open and she cocked her head giving them a heated glare.

"She's dead and still screwing with my life." Samantha spat at them.

"You ought to go say goodbye to your father. If I were you I'd keep lying to him." Gibbs sternly told her and nodded toward the room. Samantha glared back at him before doing just that with the company of the agents.

Once they had gotten Samantha squared away after her father had past moments after her confrontation, the team was back at NCIS finishing up the paperwork. After an hour or so Claire and Tony had finished up and walked out to the parking lot together. As they walked Claire decided to ask him something that she had been thinking about.

"So when you were telling Willie that whole spiel about how there's something to remember about every woman…..did you really mean that?" she asked him curiously. Tony looked a little taken aback but answered with a smug smile.

"Yea of course. There's always something different about every woman." He easily told her. She nodded, accepting the answer.

"So what would you say is my memorable trait?" she slyly asked with a raised brow. Tony's steps faltered a bit as his mind was buzzing with possible answers. _Your smile, personality, the way your eyes glitter when you're around your brother, the fact that you join in my childish antics…_ The list was endless for him. But he couldn't tell her any of that! Claire didn't notice his pause since she was still looking straight ahead. Tony quickly came up with an answer that was suitable.

"You're abusive." He told her after a moment. Claire gasped and punched him in the shoulder.

"I am not. You're just to delicate." She accused with a small laugh. Tony laughed along with her.

"You know that's going in the journal for our next meeting with Ducky." He reminded her. Claire just rolled her eyes as they reached their cars.

"Whatever Tony. I'll see you tomorrow." She told him as she got into her car. Tony chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder and got into his car with a fond smile on his face.


	19. Chapter 19

[An Eye for an Eye 1]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Ducky leaned over to look down into the container that was taking up the spot where a full body would typically be.

"My, my, you are hypnotic aren't you?" he rhetorically asked the pair of floating eyeballs that were in the container. Palmer handed him a scalpel but Ducky denied them.

"No thank you Mr. Palmer. It is better to poke around with these." He explained and wiggled his hands around in the air for emphasis.

"Did you know that the word 'autopsy' come from the Greek, meaning 'to see for one's self'?" Ducky asked his assistant as he carefully picked up one of the eyes and began examining it.

"They didn't offer Greek at my high school." Palmer replied as he watched the doctor.

"Oh perhaps we should try Latin then. Are you familiar with the term 'karitoplasy'?" Ducky continued as he glanced over at Palmer. Jimmy's face scrunched up in thought, which then turned into remembrance.

"Ah…cornea transplant surgery." He answered with a thoughtful smile.

"Oh then your education did pay off." Ducky quipped good naturedly and smiled back at his assistant.

"My mother will be pleased to hear that." Jimmy told him with a smile. They heard the sound of the autopsy doors hissing as someone walked through.

"What do we know Duck?" Gibbs asked in his typical 'get down to business' tone.

"Well I just started Jethro. How did these come into our possession?" Ducky asked his friend. Gibbs came to stand in front of the doctor on the other side of the autopsy table as Ducky looked up at him.

"They were in a package sent to a Petty Officer. Mailman put it in the wrong box, neighbor opened it up and scared the hell out of her." Gibbs easily explained. He glanced at the plasma screen that had a front facing picture of the eyes so the other investigators would have a better look at them and their cobalt blue coloring.

"Well I should imagine so." Ducky speculated and began showing Gibbs the eyeballs. Gibbs leaned on the table to get a better look at the organs and curiously watched while Ducky explained what he had found so far.

"These have been enucleated and preserved with skill and care by a surgeon. Assuming that they're as healthy as they appear, transplantation would be the inevitable conclusion." Ducky summarized and then began talking to the eyes, during which Gibbs quickly left. Knowing that there was no point in staying for any of it.

"We don't necessarily need your body to discover what happened to you. They say that they eyes are the windows to the soul." Ducky mysteriously told the organs.

Claire's POV:

Up in the bullpen all of us were assigned to investigate the package containing a pair of blue eyes that was delivered earlier today. Tony was lounging back in his chair with his feet propped on his desk, eyes wide open while I sat next to him on top of his desk, filing my nails. We had already gathered our information but the others didn't know that. Tony and I had a very secret way of getting a lot of work done in very little time, it came in very handy during our college years. Kate noticed our lack of movement and walked over to the desk. Noticing that he still hadn't responded she waved her hands over his eyes, which never moved.

"Wow I'm impressed, you can actually sleep with your eyes open." She told him mockingly.

"Yea, I'm meditating." He mumbled to her. Kate rolled her eyes.

"Yea on how much you drank last night or trying to remember her name?" she quipped while walking back to her desk. I chuckled at how accurate she probably was.

"I don't kiss and tell Kate." He replied, still unmoving from his position.

"Since when?" I piped up with a dull tone.

"I know more about your sex life than I do my own, Tony." McGee dryly added, not looking away from his work on the computer.

"Well that's not hard to believe Probie, considering you don't have one." Tony told Tim with a laugh. I smiled in amusement and glanced back at him. McGee smiled sarcastically at the dig but didn't respond.

"Gibbs wants to know everything there is to know about this package, and if I were you two, I wouldn't let him catch you napping or wasting time." Kate told us throwing her hands up elaborating on her 'so maybe you should work' tone. Not that Tony could see it anyway. I smirked at her and Tony pointed a lazy finger in her direction since his back was towards her.

"Thanks for the advice… but we got it covered." He assured, his voice dropping off at the end while he closed his eyes. Just then Gibbs came into the cubicle.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"Everybody, talk to me." He ordered. McGee and Kate made nervous eye contact before glancing at the other two who still hadn't stirred. They got up and walked over to the front of Gibbs desk holding folders.

"Well I'm checking with eye banks and ITC's who handle tissue organ donations." Kate started.

"Any of them missing a set of blue eyes?" Gibbs asked her. Kate hesitated.

"Well I haven't heard back from them yet." She reluctantly told him. Gibbs gave her the 'get to it' look and turned to McGee. As he stared talking Kate sheepishly gestured that she was going back to her desk, and walked away.

"Um, no return address on the package boss but I did contact the post office." Tim told him.

"Yea and?..." Gibbs prodded.

"They are running the tracking number from the barcode." He told Gibbs who stared at him as if to ask 'is that it?'. McGee nodded.

"I'll call them back right now." He mumbled and scurried off to his desk. Gibbs then noticed the absence of his other two agents, not that he was overly surprised that they omitted to walking over together. Usually if one was missing so was the other. He looked over towards Tony's desk and saw the feet that were propped up on the back cabinets and Claire's back as she inspected her work. Gibbs sat there for a moment waiting for one of them to move. Just as he slowly stood up Tony started talking, as he heard the sound of chair wheels rolling.

"Package was addressed to a Second Class Petty Officer Benjamin Horlocker. Stationed at Dam Neck, currently on a 72, due back tomorrow." He listed off without even opening his eyes. Tony paused and glanced over at Kate who was staring at him open mouthed, holding her phone to her ear.

"That's a 72 hour leave there Katie." He added demeaningly before returning back to his previous position, letting Claire add the rest.

"He's a student at the Navy/Marine corps intelligence training center." she continued while Tony grunted as he sat up straight. Meanwhile McGee and Kate were shooting each other incredulous looks across the bullpen.

"Been living at that address since last September." Tony finished with a smug smile as he turned around. Gibbs hid a proud and amused smirk while the two continued.

"His military records are clean, the only thing that stands out is a speeding ticket two months ago….and uh…he didn't pay his cable bill last week." Claire finished as they walked over to Gibb's desk, handing him a complete file of information. Gibbs took the papers with a smile and looked at his other two agents.

"Good to know somebody is working around here." He pointed out while glancing at McGee and Kate. Tony yawned obnoxiously as he shot a smug look at Kate who was finishing the phone call she had.

 **Claire's POV:**

"So far no one has reported missing a pair of cobalt blues." Kate informed Gibbs. Tony sent her a disappointed look while she shook her head. The look on her face was absolutely priceless. McGee hung up on his phone and relayed his information to us next.

"The package was shipped two days ago from Ciudad Del Este, Paraguay." Tim told Gibbs.

"Paraguay?" Tony mumbled. Everyone looked to him.

"TBA…that's the border area. It's where Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil meet. It's a base of operations for smugglers, drug trafficking, and illegal organ trafficking." Tony elaborated while making a triangle with his hands. During this Gibbs had stood up and was strapping on his gun.

"And al Quida cells." Gibbs tacked on and grabbed his coat and started walking off.

"Alright we'll meet you outside boss. We're going to Dam Neck." He cheered and clapped his hands together.

"Bring Claire with you." Gibbs called as he pushed the button for the elevator. I grinned triumphantly as I noticed McGee and Kate were still watching us in a slightly stunned manner. Once Gibbs had gone down Kate abruptly stood up and leaned on her desk glaring at Tony.

"You two didn't move all morning! How did you know all that?!" she asked him.

"Work smarter not harder Katie." I teased while strapping on my own gun. Tony nodded his head and chuckled at her exasperated expression.

"You'll live longer." He added while she pouted.

"Probie! I wanna know who shipped that package in Paraguay as soon as I get back." Tony ordered as he slung on his backpack and followed me to the elevators. McGee nodded earnestly.

"You've got it boss…..ermm…Tony." he closed his eyes at his blunder.

"See you later Kate?" Tony lightheartedly called as he continued walking. He was loving every minute of this and quite frankly so was I. I waved cheekily at them as the elevator doors closed.

Gibbs, Tony, and I were following the landlady toward the Petty Officer's apartment. She was a nice, bigger, dark skinned lady with short hair and a feisty attitude. We all had our coats on since it was closer to the winter months now and was turning cold.

"Believe me this isn't the first time that fool mailman put stuff in the wrong box. I got a video of some college girls just last week, flashing their you-know-whats." She told us as we walked. Gibbs smirked at the woman's blunt tone.

"When's the last time you saw Petty Officer Horlocker ma'am?" I asked from behind them while trying to contain a smile.

"A couple days ago." She answered.

"What can you tell us about him?" Tony asked.

"He's quiet. He keeps to himself. He's got a girlfriend." She listed off.

"Do they live together?" Gibbs asked and looked over at her.

"Who knows these days, she comes and goes. I think he made her a key. It's a violation of the lease, but I looked the other way." She informed.

"We'd like to look at Horlocker's apartment. Is that ok?" Gibbs asked the woman when we stopped our walk. She nodded her head eagerly.

"Considering what was in that package? Please do." She insisted and we continued toward the apartment. I smiled at her forwardness. After a few steps the landlady stopped again and looked up at Gibbs with a look on her face.

"I see you're not wearing a wedding ring Agent Gibbs." She commented slyly. We all stopped and looked at her questioningly as she lifted up her keys and shook them teasingly.

"Maybe you'd like to inspect that video with me when you're done." She bluntly asked him and took a teasing step forward with a sensuous smirk. Tony and I shot a look at each other. _Was this really happening right now?_ Gibbs just stared at her for a moment before smiling to himself and walking away without answering her. Tony and I followed and looked away awkwardly as we passed the still smiling landlady.

"He is single." I heard Tony murmur to her in passing. Eventually the lady followed and led us to one of the rooms on the ground floor. She took her keys and unlocked the door, opening it so we could head on inside. Gibbs walked in followed by Tony but I stayed back and pulled on my gloves.

"Now how does a fine man like that stay single?" the landlady asked me, never looking away from Gibbs. I scoffed with a smile.

"He didn't, he's been married three times." I informed and walked in the door.

"Mmmm" the lady hummed and raised an intrigued eyebrow. I glanced back and put my hands on the door to close it.

"We'll let you know when we finish Ms. Robinson." I assured politely before closing the door.

"Wow" I muttered as I thought about the lady's eagerness for Gibbs. _That was weird._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"I'll take the bedroom." Claire told the boys and made her way back. As they looked around the apartment they noticed that the whole place had a very feminine touch. From the girlie magazines to the flowered decorations and ceramic dolls on the shelves.

"This guy's already in trouble." Gibbs muttered to Tony, who was also in the room.

"The girlfriend's taken over." He added as he looked around the living room.

"Maybe not. Killing fields, Undercover agent." Tony listed off the video games that he was holding up. Claire called from the bedroom nearby.

"There's makeup in the bathroom. And there's women's clothes in his closet." She told them. She pulled out one of the blouses and chuckled before showing the boys.

"But I can't say much for her taste." She commented as she showed them the grandma style blouse.

"Let's see if we can find her name." Gibbs told her as he eyed the garment.

"Right." She absentmindedly commented and put the clothing back. Just then they heard the door being unlocked. As the door slowly swung open Gibbs went behind it while Tony walked towards the person entering.

"Who the hell are you?" a young man with light blonde hair and chiseled facial features asked when he noticed Tony standing in his living room.

"Petty Officer Benjamin Horlocker?" Gibbs asked as he stepped into view. Tony went back to examining the room. The Petty Officer looked at him curiously while Gibbs showed him his badge.

"NCIS." Gibbs told him. The man looked at him curiously.

"What's going on sir?" Horlocker asked.

"We're here to investigate a package delivered to you and opened by mistake by your neighbor. Sent from Ciudad del Este, Paraguay." Gibbs informed the man. Tony and Claire walked over to stand beside their boss, effectively making a semi-circle around the petty officer.

"It contained human organs. A pair of eyes." Tony informed the man. Horlocker looked at him with a small smile thinking that was insane.

"Eyes? You've got to be kidding me sir. " He nervously asked looking between them.

"Where have you been the last couple of days petty officer?" Gibbs asked instead.

"On a 72, visiting my family in New Jersey." He answered.

"Training to be an intelligence analyst at Dam Neck?" Tony continued.

"Yes sir." The man answered, with a seemingly permanent frightened expression on his face.

"What area of the world do you cover there petty officer?" Tony asked him.

"Central and South America." He answered evenly.

"Have you ever been to Paraguay?" Claire chimed in.

"Never. Look I don't know what's going on here but something must be…." Horlocker began but Gibbs cut him off.

"Maybe your girlfriend does." He suggested. The petty officer swallowed and looked at Gibbs.

"I don't have a girlfriend." Horlocker told them with a shake of his head.

"So what woman is keeping all of her clothes in your bedroom?" Claire asked him, picking up on the obvious lie. Horlocked looked at her and paused before answering.

"We broke up. A month ago, she hasn't come back yet to pick up her stuff." He told her with a sadly. The investigators stared at him, not totally convinced. Horlocker looked over at Gibbs.

"I'm telling you I don't know anything about eyes." he insisted. Gibbs merely quirked his lips.

"Shouldn't you have a warrant or something to be in here?" the petty officer asked, obviously done with all the questions.

"You keep yourself available petty officer. We'll have more questions for you." Gibbs told him and walked out of the door.

"Yes sir." The man acknowledged. Claire and Tony followed. Tony took one last glance around and shut the door behind him.

 **Claire's POV:**

The three of us walked through the apartment complex heading back to the car.

"There was an open lipstick in the bathroom, the girlfriend is still living there Gibbs." I told them as we walked. I know Gibbs couldn't have believed him, so why were we just walking away? Tony and I took the lead while Gibbs trailed behind.

"Yup, definitely hiding something." Tony agreed.

"Oh yea." Gibbs concurred. _We all kept walking in silence, all of us thinking the same thing. Everyone agrees that he's hiding something…so…._.

"So why are we letting him walk?" Tony finally asked the question.

"We're not. You two are staying here. Watch him." Gibbs ordered. Tony and I paused in our walk to glance at Gibbs questioningly. He just kept walking past us.

"Let me know what he does next." Gibbs called back to us as he answered his cellphone. Tony and I glanced at each other. _Looks like we are in for a long, cold stakeout._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"Yea Abbs." Gibbs answered. Back at NCIS Ducky heard the phone in Abby's lab and eagerly scurried towards it.

"Jethro can you hear me?" He loudly asked over the speakerphone. Abby watched him with an amused grin while she leaned over her phone, elbows on the counter and her head resting in her hands.

"He can hear you." She told him with a chuckle. Ducky made an 'oh' face and chuckled too, knowing that his experience with technology was a bit lacking.

"What do ya got?" Gibbs asked.

"Well I…" Ducky started but glanced over at Abby. With a polite smile he gestured to her.

"I'm sorry, ladies first." Ducky politely insisted like the gentleman he truly is. Abby stood up straight and put her hands over her heart at the gesture.

"That is so sweet." She gushed.

"It's a pleasure I'm sure." Ducky replied with a grin. Gibbs was stuck listening to them talk.

"Today Abby!" Gibbs called over the phone, getting their attention.

"Oh ok, so I ran the DNA through ABFIl and we didn't get a match but we can definitely start calling 'ole blue eyes a Jane Doe. Those babies are female." She informed Gibbs.

"And I think you would like to know that Ms. Doe gave up her eyes unwillingly." Ducky added.

"How do you know?" gabs asked curiously.

"At first brush the eyes seemed flawless. But further dissection revealed large intro-orbital hematoma." Ducky told him.

"Meaning?" Gibbs pressed, not understanding all the medical mumbo jumbo.

"Well Jethro if you slice into an eye like you would, say an egg, you would risk nicking the blood vessels." Ducky began to explain while using his hands as he talked. Abby was the only one in the room with him and was listening to him intently.

"But if you peel the eye layer by layer, like an onion, then you can be sure…" but Gibbs cut off his ramble.

"Uh Ducky, the short version." Gibbs told him.

"Cardiac arrest." Ducky answered simply.

"I found an abnormally high dosage of potassium in the vitreous and carotids, behind the eyes. I'd say she was most likely poisoned." This sparked another one of Ducky's stories.

"Jethro did you know that corneal transplantation dates back to 1905…." At this Gibbs abruptly hung up the phone. Ducky, however rambled until he heard a click and a beep from the speakerphone.

"Jethro?" Ducky asked to the phone.

"He's not there." Abby told him.

"Oh we lost the connection." Ducky commented. But he was wrong so Abby clarified.

"No, he hung up." She told him seriously. Ducky looked at her in realization.

"Oh…" he mumbled.

"But you can tell me the rest of the story!" she excitedly suggested.

"Go back to the part where you were peeling the layers off the eyeball." She told him with a smile. Ducky grinned back at her, happy someone wanted to listen to his stories.

That night Claire and Tony were staking out Horlocker's apartment in the NCIS car. It was during the winter months so it was freezing outside and the car wasn't turned on. Claire used her hand to wipe off some of the condensation on the windshield that had come from the temperature difference. She looked at the apartment again through binoculars while Tony lounged back in his seat, seemingly asleep. Claire shivered and glanced back at Tony. Seeing his position, she glared and smacked him on the arm. If she had to stay up you can be certain she would have him awake too.

"Wake up." She told him. Tony just shifted.

"I am awake." He groggily replied. Claire looked at him a moment, thinking that his sleepy voice was very attractive. Fortunately, Tony hadn't opened his eyes yet to see her slight blush.

"Turn the heat up please I'm freezing." She asked and looked through the binoculars again.

"Can't, smoke from the tailpipe will give away our position." He replied with his eyes still closed. Claire rolled her eyes and shivered violently again.

"Great…I can't feel my legs here." She chattered. Tony slowly opened an eye as an idea popped into his head. He was going to utilize this alone time with her.

"We could do what the eskimos do to keep warm." Tony suggested in his low, groggy voice. Claire sat back in her chair and huffed out a shaky breath.

"What's that?" she asked curious as to why his demeanor had suddenly changed. Tony opened up both of his eyes and locked his gaze on her.

"They presssss their bodies together." He explained and held his hands up together as illustration. For some reason, she suddenly became slightly uncomfortable. Sure, she had been close to Tony before but the thought of what he was suggesting made her feel nervous, like some teenager with a crush. Claire gave him an odd look and he sat up to talk to her properly, noticing his effect on her.

"Of course the effect is greatly improved if….you're naked." He added and leaned in closer. Tony played it off in a cool manor but he secretly was turned on by that thought. It confused him a bit. Claire was just his friend right? So why was he somewhat serious about his proposition. Plus, the proximity was making his head swim a little.

Claire gave him a sickly-sweet smile, trying to play along, and didn't look away. Tony's breath caught.

"There's not enough liquor on the planet to make me do that, Tony." She told him smugly, fighting against her desire to see how this would play out.

"I wasn't suggesting the naked part." Tony pointed out and rested his hand on her shoulder, starting to stroke it gently. Claire glanced down at it and sucked in a breath. This teasing was starting to wear on her and suddenly the car didn't seem so cold anymore.

"But if you wanna freeze…freeze." He told her with a wink while he rubbed his thumb on her shoulder even more. She looked at him in conflicted. She had to keep in mind that it was just a game to him, and she couldn't let him know that she was affected. The intense teasing was starting to muddle both of their thoughts as they sat there, both enjoying the intimate contact. Their eyes connected and they got even more caught up in the moment. Suddenly Claire took in a deep breath and shuddered, making her look away from his intense gaze. Someone had to come back to their senses. She and Tony were just friends and they didn't need any odd emotions messing it up.

"Oh I need a vacation." She told him, changing the subject. Tony smiled broadly, to cover up the sudden disappointment, but he was glad to see that he had flustered her. Maybe it wasn't just him feeling things. He leaned back down in his seat again.

"Where would you go?" he asked curiously, going along with it. Claire started shivering again and she fidgeted in attempt to warm herself as she thought. Tony wanted to wrap an arm around her to help warm her but after the previous heat of the moment, he decided against it.

"Oh someplace warm, somewhere where there's no cellphone reception." She told him with a small smile.

"The tropics." He whispered wistfully.

"Oh yes, the tropics would be nice." She agreed with a grin. Claire looked back towards the apartment and saw his light turn off.

"Horlocker's light just went off." She informed Tony and pulled up her binoculars again.

"He's probably going to bed. It's midnight." Tony told her as he looked at his watch. Claire glanced back at him in agitation.

"God, do you think we're gonna have to stay here all night?" she whined as she shivered again. She really didn't want to be sitting out there in the cold all night. And her new fuzzy feelings around Tony weren't helping the situation either.

"Why don't you call Gibbs and find out." Tony challenged. Claire laughed.

"Why don't _YOU_ call Gibbs and find out." she mocked. They both laughed.

"Cause I know the answer." Tony quipped with an almost giggle. Claire laughed again, the awkward tension gone. Now they were just enjoying a laugh together like they normally would do.

"Oh I need a vacation!" she whined childishly and glared back at the house. Suddenly they heard a gunshot from the apartment. Their smiles dropped and Tony shot upright before they both raced out of the car. With guns drawn they sprinted toward the apartment. The landlady started towards the room in her robe and stopped when she saw the agents.

"What the hell?..." she started but Claire urgently gestured for her to leave.

"Get back into your apartment!" she told her and continued towards the door. The landlady didn't need to be told twice. They each took a side of the door. Tony nodded and she nodded back in indication that she was ready. Tony took a step back and kicked the door open while Claire immediately went in first and lifted up her gun, with a flashlight underneath so they could see. They quickly started scanning the dark living room before they heard an old movie going in the bedroom. Quietly the agents made their way towards it. Tony entered the dimly lit room first. He saw the body of a dead woman on the bed, however they were still looking for an intruder or Horlocker. Claire checked the closet behind him and he glanced over at her. It was clear so they moved on, Tony checking the closet in the bedroom while she scanned for any open windows. Tony moved along the wall and scanned the bathroom.

"Clear." He whispered to Claire. She reached over and turned on the main light, never dropping her gun. They both stared at the body of a woman lying face down in blood on the bed with a hole out her back. Tony looked down and cleared away the handgun from the bed before kneeling in front of the woman. He looked at her curiously before lifting up the head to get a better look… It was Petty Officer Horlocker dressed as a woman.

"He had a secret alright." Tony commented as he continued to stare at the scene before him. Claire sighed and shook her head, he had killed himself.

 **Claire's POV:**

That morning the NCIS team had come to examine the crime scene. Horlocker was turned onto his back so Ducky could better examine him….or her?

"What do you think Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"Well it's a sad situation Jethro, even in today's enlightened age transsexualism is terribly misunderstood." Ducky began explaining. Kate and I were examining the bedroom, while McGee was taking pictures. As we listened to Ducky, I tried not to laugh at the fact that Gibbs didn't really care about that.

"His identity as a male…" Ducky continued but Palmer cut him off.

"Uh doctor?" Ducky paused and looked down at him. Palmer was crouching between Ducky and Gibbs by the bed.

"Yes Mr. Palmer?" he inquired.

"I think Agent Gibbs was referring more to the …a….forensic aspect of the situation." Palmer told him and glanced up at Gibbs to make sure he had the right assumption. Gibbs looked down at him but said nothing.

"Maybe." Jimmy tacked on and continued his work.

"Has head slapping been affective for you Jethro?" Ducky asked him. Palmer sighed and the three of us smiled in amusement at the hole Jimmy had just dug for himself. Gibbs bobbed his head in a 'maybe' gesture.

"Look at the way DiNozzo turned out." he quipped making Ducky chuckle.

"Well the pattern of gun residue and the exit wound on his back suggests that the weapon was held directly over the heart. Death was instantaneous." Ducky answered, referring to Gibb's question about what happened. Gibbs leaned in closer to the blood spatter on the bed.

"In all probability, he took his own life." Ducky concluded and continued examining the body.

"Boss don't most suicides shoot themselves in the head?" McGee asked from his spot by the closet.

"Men, not women." Gibbs told him. Tony wandered into the room, holding Horlocker's laptop.

"I guess he didn't think of himself as a man." McGee commented.

"Well she must have known that her secret was going to come out." Kate added as she dusted the vanity for other prints. I scrunched up my face in distaste, I had a feeling this was about to get really confusing.

"Don't you mean, _HE_ must have known that _HIS_ secret was going to come out?" Tony countered and looked over at her challengingly. _Yup…I'm so lost right now._ Kate stood up and wandered over towards him while she explained why 'he was wrong'.

"Psychosexually speaking, Tony. Horlocker was a woman trapped in a man's body. And when she killed herself she freed herself. Thus, the note." Kate told him and pointed to the note. The one on the bed that said 'I am free'. McGee walked over towards us too.

"Hey you know what this reminds me of? Pachi's suspect that we were staking out last year." He told us. _I don't think I've ever heard them talk about that one?_ When I glanced over I noticed that Tony's eyes widened and he shot McGee a glare that could kill. Kate laughed at the memory.

"That's right!" Kate told him and McGee nodded, both of them ignoring Tony's looks from between them.

"The….the beautiful pre-op transsexual that seduced Tony." Kate elaborated for me. My eyes practically bulged out of my skull and I looked at Tony.

"What?! Tony you never told me about this." I mock scolded with a wide grin on my face.

"She didn't seduce me I was undercover." Tony immediately argued and gave Kate a look to 'shut up', which I didn't fail to notice. Kate and McGee only smiled mischievously and turned to me.

"Yea well didn't you stick your tongue down her throat…" Kate asked innocently and Tony started making noises of protest to get her to stop.

"Claire doesn't want to know about all.." he started protesting and nudging me away from Kate. I laughed and put my hand up in protest.

"No, I would actually love to hear about this." I told him with a giggle at his embarrassed and horrified expression. It must have been really bad if he is so unwilling to let me hear about it….so naturally I HAD to hear about this.

"I took one for the team. Alright?" Tony corrected through clenched teeth and looked pointedly at the two of them.

"Someone had to keep her occupied." He told me and looked back down at the laptop in his hands. McGee beamed at his frustration and embarrassment.

"Don't you mean _HIM_." He corrected with a smirk. Tony looked up and glared daggers at Tim. He growled unamused and took a step towards McGee in a menacing manner while Kate and I snickered. McGee chuckled and held his hands up, taking a step backwards. However, with that step he knocked into Gibbs and spilled his coffee that was sitting on the floor. Immediately our laughing stopped. Gibbs looked down at the spill while we watched Tim in horror. This was gonna get him killed for sure. Gibbs slowly glared up at the Probie who wore a terrified expression, realizing what he had done.

"I'm sorry, sorry boss." He muttered and bent down to pick it up, Gibbs staring at the top of his head the whole time.

"I'm sorry." He muttered again and stood up. Gibbs stood up too and looked down at the now empty cup before staring icily at McGee. _The look was making me nervous and I wasn't even on the receiving end of it._

"I'll…ge…get you a fresh one. It was black?" he rapidly stuttered when Gibbs continued staring without a word. You know it's bad when Gibbs just stares at you.

"Black it is." Tim nodded and quickly made his exit. Once he was gone Gibbs continued the investigation.

"You didn't see anyone enter or leave?" he asked and walked into the living room.

"No, she….or he….. was here alone." I answered and followed him out. Tony joined us and was snooping around Horlocker's desk.

"Alright check his phone records. Maybe he called someone when he was deciding to off himself." Gibbs instructed.

"Already on it, it'll happen tomorrow." Tony told him while he was bagging some stuff.

"I'm thinking that there was no girlfriend Gibbs. That he was just living a double life." Kate commented as she entered the living room too.

"It's a whole new spin on 'don't ask don't tell'." Tony chimed in as he put the laptop into an evidence bag. I glanced over at him with a smirk.

"I'm much more interested in the cross-dressing sailor who's getting body parts in the mail." Gibbs told us before looking at Tony.

"Get he-she's laptop back to Abby." Gibbs ordered before walking out of the apartment. The three of us glanced at each other and got back to work. McGee had certainly put him in a bad mood for now.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at NCIS headquarters Abby was hooking up the Petty Officer's laptop so she could do an analysis on it. She was finishing up connecting it to her desktop computer when Gibbs walked in.

"Hey Gibbs you're just in time." She chirped and walked around to face her computers where McGee was sitting.

"Ok, from the outside it looks like a normal laptop. But on the inside…" she trailed off as she clicked on some access keys to show Gibbs the hard drive. Up came an encryption key that was moving across the screen rapidly.

"Voila, fortified with a type of date encryption that only someone with something to hide would have." She elaborated.

"The petty officer's protocol was far more sophisticated than any GP or DES software I've ever seen" McGee added. Gibbs gave him a blank look but Abby spoke up before he could comment.

"At first we couldn't even understand his AL gustation algorithm." Abby added while McGee nodded in agreement.

"It's really hardcore stuff."

"Very very hardcore." The two of them finished, Gibbs glancing back and forth between them as they talked, not understanding a word of what was going on. Gibbs walked up to the front where the big screen was.

"Did you get anything or not?" he asked. They just kept blabbing on about how hard it was but he never got an answer he could understand.

"Yea." Abby said.

"And no" McGee added. Gibbs gave them a confused look.

"There's a certain layer we haven't cracked yet." Abby explained.

"But we did get petty officer Horlocker's vlog." McGee told him with a triumphant smile. Gibbs still had no idea what that meant.

"A personal internet journal?...Web blog….vlog….get it?" Abby rattled off, trying to find something he would understand but Gibbs maintained a blank face.

"Pig Latin." Gibbs guessed but the two techies grimaced.

"Actually that would be ebway ogway." McGee told his boss looking at Abby for confirmation. Abby enthusiastically nodded in agreement. Gibbs rolled his eyes and turned away from the two of them. He was so done trying.

"Pig Latin adds…uh…'way'….to words that start with vowels and 'a' to words starting with continents….after moving part of the word." During this explanation Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Once McGee was done Gibbs just glared at him.

"I'm sure you knew that already.." McGee trailed off awkwardly.

"Did the vlog say anything useful?" Gibbs asked as he perused the evidence on Abby's lab table.

"It's mostly 'men are from mars' kinda stuff. He was very interested in the differences between men and women." Abby explained.

"Men are from what?" Gibbs asked her.

"Mars Gibbs….and women are from Venus?" she explained with a 'you really don't know this' kind of tone while Gibbs kept looking at the evidence.

"A famous book about relationships and communication between the sexes?" McGee added.

"There's a TV show, and a board game…the guy wrote like 10 sequels?" Abby rattle off, adding to what McGee said. Gibbs showed no indication of recognition.

"I'm beginning to understand why you were married three times." She mused.

"Abby." Gibbs gave her a warning look but Abby smugly smiled, unphased by the loose threat.

"Come look at it for yourself." She told him gesturing to her computer. Gibbs came up behind her as she pulled up the documents.

"Inside every good man there is a better woman…lol?" Gibbs read one of the lines from the vlog saying the acronym with confusion.

"It's uh….laughing out loud. It of course can be topped by…"

"ROTFLOL" Abby chimed it with a grin at Gibbs.

"Rolling on the floor laughing out loud." McGee finished with a nod, which Abby mimicked. She looked at the confused Gibbs with amusement. Gibbs turned to Abby, completely ignoring McGee.

"Keep looking. Horlocker was leading two different lives, I want to know everything there is about both of them A.S.A.P." Gibbs told them and walked out of the lab.

"Onway itway ibbsgay!" Abby called out after him and giggled to herself.

 **Kate's POV:**

Up in the bullpen Tony was standing in front of the big screen looking intently at the pair of stunning blue eyes on the screen while Claire and I worked at our desks.

"There was a time I would kill for a pair of eyes like that." I mused, glancing over at the picture from my desk. Tony tilted his head in thought.

"Do you think she was a blonde or brunette?" he curiously asked. _The heck?_

"What difference does it make?" I asked, not looking up from my work.

"I love brunettes….I bet she was beautiful." Tony answered with a wistful expression, as if trying to imagine the women behind those eyes. I internally smirked. Claire has dark hair….and blue eyes. It's not hard to figure out why he would think that combination was pretty. Too bad that both of them were naïve when it came to their feelings for each other. Once they admit it life will be so much simpler. I remembered the promise I made Tony about not saying anything so I quickly dismissed any comment I wanted to make. Claire looked up at him with a disgusted expression.

"Are you telling me that you're attracted to a disembodied set of eyeballs?" she asked incredulously, trying to process what could be going through his brain. Tony tilted his head back and forth while peering at the screen, as if it could bring the woman to life.

"Weird huh?" he merely commented, not even fazed by her tone. She shook her head and went back to work.

"That's disturbing." she told him. Tony looked over at her.

"It's kinda like that movie 'Laura'." He mused. And there goes classic Tony with his movie references.

"Laura?" Claire asked, reading over some files.

"Yea, old movie by Otto Preminger. It's about a cop who falls in love with the painting of a girl whose head's been blown off by a shotgun." Tony told her as he walked back over to his desk and sat down.

"Sounds romantic." Claire mused sarcastically.

"You have no idea…. Gene Tierney was a goddess!" Tony told her with a thoughtfull expression, thinking about the actress. _And there's the other classic Tony…._

 **Claire's POV:**

The three of us looked up as they saw Gibbs walk over to his desk.

"What do we have" he asked no one in particular.

"Well I called Petty Officer Horlocker's family, and he lied about paying them a visit over the weekend. They haven't heard from him in over year." Kate relayed.

"Still can't find a connection to Paraguay, boss. He never deployed overseas, never applied for a passport." I rattled off after she had finished.

"What I want to know is how a suicidal transvestite attended an intelligence school without anybody noticing." Kate mused glancing around at us.

"Did you contact his faculty advisor yet?" Gibbs asked her.

"I was just about to." Kate told him but Tony spoke up. I subtly rolled my eyes at this 'I'm better than you' game Kate and Tony have been playing for the past couple of days.

"His name is lieutenant commander Guyman Persel. He retired, got his PhD in South American studies I think we should interview him." Tony told Gibbs while Kate was watching them in confusion. Tony had done it again.

"Yea? Why is that?" Gibbs asked, not looking up at Tony.

"According to Horlocker's phone records, he called the commander right before he killed himself." Tony explained and held up the phone records to prove it. Gibbs nodded in approval.

"Good work Tony." He praised in his own Gibbs way, aka not much emotion. With Gibbs you take what you can get.

"Get the car…..Kate" He ordered. Tony stood up and shot a smug grin at Kate who looked between the two in shock. That was always Tony's job. I held in a smirk at her reaction because I knew what was going through her mind. It was like she had been demoted. When he heard this Tony's grin widened even more. I glanced over and noticed that even Gibbs couldn't help but smile at her reaction.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the university, an older man was teaching a room full of uniformed students.

"Ok, now that we've learned a little bit about recruiting double agents, let's take a moment to consider some of the risks involved." Professor Persel told his class. The three agents were sitting in the very back of the room evaluating the class until they could get a chance to talk to the man. Claire was the one staying behind on this trip.

"Anybody?" Persel prodded. Tony shifted a little and started to raise his right hand to answer.

"DiNozzo….would you like to become left handed?" Gibbs threatened, not even glancing over. Tony looked over at him and put his hand back down like a scolded child. Kate laughed and leaned in to whisper to Tony, since they were in an ongoing class.

"Are you going for your brownnose badge this week?" she asked him.

"You're just jealous cause it's working." He quipped back. Kate glared at him and went back to listening to the lecture.

After class, the agents walked with the professor as they discussed the phone call.

"Petty Officer Horlocker was a decent student, that's all I know about him really." Persel told the agents.

"Do you cover Ciudad del Este in your class?" Gibbs asked him as he walked beside the man. Tony and Kate trailing.

"The tri-border area, of course. Why?" He easily answered.

"Well Horlocker got a package from them." Gibbs told the man.

"Inside was a pair of human eyes." Kate continued. Persel looked back at her in shock.

"Cut out of a woman's head." Tony added.

"Oh that's horrible.." Persel gasped as the continued walking.

"What did the petty officer say about it?" he asked Gibbs curiously.

"Claimed to have not known anything about it." Gibbs replied.

"Did you ever spend any personal time with him outside of class Mr. Persel?" Kate asked.

"In my experience the students tend to see their instructors as larger than life. It's best not to get too attached." Persel explained. Kate gave him a suspicious look.

"So that would be a no?" Gibbs asked and stopped in front of him.

"Am I being interrogated for some reason?" Persel asked Gibbs head on.

"Depends."

"On what agent Gibbs?" Persel fired back.

"Why he called you last night." Gibbs told him and watched the man's reaction.

"Many of my students call me at home. Last night he wanted to know if I would give him an extension on a paper due this week." Perself told them.

"Did you give it to him?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes" Gibbs nodded.

"Good, he could use it." He vaguely explained.

"He's in trouble?" Persel assumed with a sigh.

"He's dead." Gibbs told him. Persel's eyes widened.

"Killed himself last night."

"Right after he got off the phone with you." Kate and Tony chimed in with hard looks. Persel's mouth gaped, he knew what this looked like.

"I don't know what to say." He muttered in shock.

"Why don't you start with what you said to him." Gibbs suggested, not really giving him the option.

"Well this wasn't the first time he asked for an extension. I was hard on him. I told him if he couldn't keep up that I'd drop him from the course. It would ruin his career. I was trying to motivate him agent Gibbs. Hold his feet to the fire. I never thought he'd…"

"Jump in?" Gibbs supplied. The two men stared at each other challengingly in silence.

 **Claire's POV:**

After the team had arrived back at the NCIS office, Gibbs was staring at the eyes on the big screen intently. Meanwhile Kate and Tony each got off the phone with their contacts. I could tell by the look on their faces that it was going to be a showdown, so I sat quietly at my desk working on my own leads for the case.

"The retired Lieutenant Commander has got his own consulting business. Persel security group, they specialize in…" Kate began but during this Tony seemed to have realized they had gathered the same information and he wasn't about to be outdone by Kate today. He cut her off.

"Intelligence work boss. They've got several high paying government contracts the biggest one is.." the two glared at each other the whole time, but Kate wasn't done just yet so she cut in.

"South Com. He's traveled back and forth to Paraguay ten times in the last six months." Kate stood up and continued her glare down with Tony while continuing. I just sat there watching them as they acted like children behind Gibb's back.

"The area he's been working is….." Tony matched her stance.

"Ciudad del Este." Tony finished. Gibbs was still unaware of the match going on behind him. The two of them glared and made their way towards each other in the middle of the walkway.

"I'm thinking this guy's a spook or.."

"Or working for spooks." The two said at the same time when they reached each other. Kate raised her eyebrows and continued, not letting up on their stare down. Now it was becoming funny.

"Everything concerning his consulting work has been flagged way above my clearance." I finished for them and watched as Kate turned around, smiling towards Gibbs. As she did Gibbs turned around to look at the both of them.

"Great.." Gibbs sarcastically muttered.

"Cause I hate spooks." He commented, giving them an odd look. His phone rang so he answered while looking away from the competing agents.

"Yea Gibbs." While he was preoccupied Kate looked over at Tony and gave him a sneer before turning back to Gibbs as he hung up the phone. I stood up and made my way over beside them.

"Abby thinks she found the body that goes with those." Gibbs told them, pointing to the eyes and headed off. As Gibbs walked off, Kate turned towards Tony and hissed while swiping a 'claw' at him. Tony growled as he followed, then quickly sprinted ahead of her so he could be directly behind Gibbs. I rolled my eyes again.

"Children….I work with children…." I muttered before following after the rest of my team.

Down in Abby's lab the group was watching a really old intelligence training film. A group of army men hopped out of a jeep while a younger Parsel walked towards the camera dramatically and began his monologue while tacky music was playing in the background. Abby paused the video.

"Now there's about four hours of online instruction classes associated with this website. They were bookmarked on Petty Officer Horlocker's hard drive." McGee explained.

"And after watching them, I can say with certainty that Persel needs a charisma bypass." Abby told Gibbs. I snickered at her comment and Abby turned to me with a grin, glad that at least I got her joke. Kate and Tony walked around the other side of the computers to look at her with confused expressions.

"What does this have to do with the eyeballs Abby?" Kate asked _. Oh, that is a good point._

"Well Horlocker accessed this jaypeg file 22 times last week." McGee explained and pulled up a picture of a pretty girl looking at Persel who was standing beside her.

"Look familiar?" Abby asked. The eyes on the girl were the same color.

"Oh I was right. She is beautiful." Tony commented while looking at the picture with a small smile. I glared at his back. That was just stupid.

"How can you be sure it's her?" I asked Abby while Gibbs walked around to look at the big screen.

"Because, iris patterns are more distinctive than fingerprints." Abby explained and pulled up the program that matched the iris patterns from the eyes they had to the girl's in the picture.

"It's more accurate too boss." Tony added smugly. 'Brown nose' Kate mouthed spitefully from the other side of the desk. Tony looked at her and childishly held up the loser sign while touching his nose. I sighed watching the two silently bicker. Meanwhile Abby was going over a lengthy explanations of how the program works.

"Abs is it her or not?" Gibbs asked, cutting her off.

"It's an 80 percent match Gibbs." Abby answered.

"I think we've got our girl." she added with a serious expression. _I looked back at the picture. Well we have our victim…now what's the story behind it and who is she?_


	20. Chapter 20

[An Eye for an Eye 2]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back in the bullpen, pictures of the Horlocker crime scene was pulled up, along with some other files related to the case. Tony began scrolling through them.

"A dead transsexual sailor, his instructor, and a pair of human eyes walk into a bar. What's the punchline Kate?" Tony listed the pictures on the screen and turned to Kate for an answer while holding out the clicker out to her. Claire gave him a scrutinizing look and took it from his hand.

"Whatever it is, it involves this girl and Paraguay." She listed off. Tony frowned.

"Well that's true….but not very funny." Tony told her in mock disappointment. She smiled and shook her head. He turned to McGee.

"Probie! Make me laugh." He ordered, flaring his hands out and wiggling his eyebrows in anticipation. McGee looked at him for a moment and pursed his lips in thought.

"Ok…uh…" he mumbled and thought some more while the other three looked at him, waiting for the punchline.

"Oh,uh….yea….the bartender doesn't believe it so he asks the spook instructor, 'what the hell is going on'." McGee began. During this Tony, Claire and Kate's expression dropped and they stood up a little straighter. However, McGee interpreted it as he was doing well.

"And the guys says 'what? A guy can't have a drink with his pupils?'" he finished with a proud smile. No one laughed and they glanced away. McGee stood there with a confused smile while Gibbs stared down the back of his head.

"Nothing?" McGee asked them, not getting why they suddenly shied away.

"Oh come on that was pretty funny." he insisted.

"You think this is a joke McGee?" Gibbs asked from behind the Probie. McGee's face paled and he glanced backwards but didn't turn his head.

"Uh no, no I don't boss." He replied solemnly.

"Good answer." Gibbs told him before getting back to work.

"Tony, you and Claire are with me in MTAC. Kate, get Persel in here, we need to talk." Gibbs ordered and walked up the stairs. The three of them turned to McGee with apologetic smiles as he took some calming breaths.

"He hates me, doesn't he?" McGee asked, looking to Kate. She was the one that would be more honest, but give it to him gently.

"Well hate's a pretty strong word." She started.

"It's more like a mild dislike." Tony tacked on. Kate tilted her head in agreement.

"You did spill his coffee." Claire reminded with a grimace.

"Today DiNozzo!" Gibbs reminded from upstairs, making Tony jump and rush off towards his boss, dragging Claire behind him. The two that were left watched them go and Kate gave McGee a sympathetic smile. She patted his shoulder.

"Gibbs will get over it." She assured. McGee looked doubtful.

"When?" he asked sarcastically.

"Well let's see, uh….last year Tony spilled his coffee and it think he warmed up to him about…" Kate looked down at her watch.

"Well about an hour ago. So roughly 8 to 10 months." she told him and patted his shoulder once more, before heading off. McGee closed his eyes miserably. He was so dead.

 **Claire's POV:**

In MTAC one of the Colonels from Southern Command was on the screen.

"I got your email Special Agent Gibbs. To tell you the truth I was shocked….when did you learn to use a computer." The man told him with a smile. Gibbs laughed, which was weird enough, considering it wasn't often that Gibbs really laughed.

"Well times change Colonel." He responded with a smile.

"That they do Gunny. I got two grandkids now. Heh….I heard you got remarried again." The colonel continued the casual conversation. Tony and I looked at each other with a smirk.

"Uh…..that didn't work out." Gibbs told him with another laugh. Tony smiled and laughed a little too. Gibbs turned to him with a hard frown and Tony wiped the smile off his face, as I held back a smug grin.

"Well then again some things don't change." The man commented. _How right he was about that._

"How can the Southern Command help you today?" the colonel asked, getting down to business.

"I'm investigating a civilian contractor working out of the Tri-Border area, Paraguay." The colonel got up to look at some files.

"Name?" he called.

"Guyman Persel." Gibbs answered. The colonel came back to his desk.

"Yea I've heard of him. Oh, yea he's part of the TACT. Tactical analysis team we had in Ciudad del Este." The colonel read off.

"What's your interest in him?" he asked, looking back at Gibbs.

"One of his students committed suicide after receiving a pair of female eyeballs in the mail from TBA. We think Persel knew the victim." Gibbs explained.

"Body parts in the mail generally denote kidnapping…Eyes?!" he asked again, just shocked that it was eyes. Gibbs chuckled.

"Yeah well…..it uh….it does send a hell of a message sir." Gibbs commented _. That's an understatement._

"Someone's putting pressure on Persel? But why?" the colonel asked.

"That's what I want to find out." Gibbs answered.

"Our Tacts. All work with other agencies, and not all of them are as forthcoming with information as I would like. But uh….when's that ever stopped us?" the colonel informed him and added a good natured wink at the end. Gibbs smiled and shook his head. Tony and I gave each other confused looks. What was that supposed to mean?

"To old times Gunny." The colonel added as he signed off.

"To old times Skipper, old times." Gibbs replied just before the screen went blank. Gibbs smirked, apparently remembering the joke behind it and started to walk out.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony asked as he followed his boss.

"Ask me again in 7 years." Gibbs told him. _Seven years?..._

"Why 7 years?" Tony continued.

"It's when the Freedom of Information act kicks in." he replied. I took that as Gibb's nice way of saying, 'none of your business'.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in the Lab, Abby was working on her computers when she felt a familiar presence behind her. Without turning around, she addressed the person.

"You know that doesn't work with me. I always know when your there!" she said and jumped around on the last word. She frowned when she didn't see anyone there. Walking over a few steps she tried to find the person hiding.

"Gibbs?" she called quietly. Her head jerked over towards her inner office when she heard the automatic doors sliding closed. But again no one was there. She turned back around in confusion.

"That's weird." She murmured. She looked back at the entrance one more time and turned back towards her computers and jumped when she saw the face of Gibbs holding her Caf-Pow standing in between the monitors.

"You looking for me?" he asked while shaking her drink tauntingly.

"You are getting sneakier the older you get." She pointed at him accusingly with a smile. Gibbs shrugged and smiled in a 'what can I say' manner. After all he is Gibbs.

"Not to mention better looking." He quipped.

"What do ya got Abby." He asked. She reached over and took the drink from him, while leading him over towards one of her machines.

"Well I'm still hacking into the petty officer's files. But I recovered some emails you would be interested in." she told him, handing him the stack of papers. Gibbs looked up and walked over to stand under one of the brighter lights in the room so he could see.

"I back traced the ISP they were sent from, it's from a server in Puerto Iguassu, Argentina." She told him and leaned over his shoulder to look at the papers again.

"The Tri-border area." Gibbs commented.

"Si." Abby confirmed with a nod of her head. Gibbs skimmed over the various emails.

 **Claire's POV:**

Up in the bullpen McGee was reading over the emails that Gibbs had given him.

"Eskopida794 is the originator in Argentina, boss." McGee told him while looking over the email names.

"Eskopida means rifle in Spanish." Tony commented from beside McGee.

"And Shadegirl is one of Petty Officer Horlocker's private email addresses." McGee added. _Shadegirl….how appropriate._

"Nice." I mused. McGee held out the emails for Tony to read, so they could play out how the conversations went. Tony raised an eyebrow at the him and reached over the papers, to grab the ones on his desk.

"You be the transsexual; I'll be the rifle." He told McGee. I smirked from the other side of McGee. Even in reading emails Tony wanted to be the macho man.

"The first exchange was three weeks ago." McGee told Gibbs and the two agents started the 'conversation'. Tony hunched over dramatically.

"I want the $100,000 for da gurl." Tony read off with a Spanish gangster type accent.

"Shadegirl says 'her controller will pay only 60 and wants proof." McGee read off in his normal voice. Tony scrunched up his face and posture dramatically again.

"One-hundred THOW!..." Tony exclaimed when Gibbs hit him upside the head. He whimpered in pain while still frozen in his position as Gibbs gave him THE stare. Like the one that bores into your soul and tells you that you're an idiot.

"Eskopida repeats his demand for the $100,000…..swears a bunch in Spanish." He told Gibbs in his normal voice this time.

"Shadegirl insists 60 and proof."

"Swear, swear, swear…..threat….swear." Tony lists. The whole time I was watching his facial expression in amusement; it was obvious that he desperately wanted to keep 'playing the part' of the Spanish gangster.

"And finally Shadegirl goes up to 75 and says his controller wants proof of where the money is sent."

"Eskopida expresses his displeasure…..colorfully. He slips up and uses a name. He says 'tell Persel his proof is on the way." Tony lists off. They put down their papers. _So Persel is a part of this._

"So officer Horlocker was bearding for Persel." McGee concluded.

"How does a transsexual beard, Probie?" Tony asked with a confused expression. I gave him a look, to which he just shrugged innocently. _Sometimes he was an idiot._

"They proved it by ripping out her eyes?" Gibbs asked them. He shook his head.

"I don't buy it." I countered.

"Eskopida is running a kidnapping ring, Claire." Tony commented. He looked back down at the papers.

"They make examples, you either meet the price or the person dies." He explained. I still didn't buy it. Gibbs looked at him a moment in thought and picked up his ringing cell.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"Yea Gibbs." He answered.

"Persel is gone Gibbs." Kate told him from the institute.

"Where?"

"According to one of his students, he was recalled back to Paraguay." Kate answered.

"You find out what flight he's on." Gibbs ordered, fury seeping into his tone.

"Already did. His flight landed at the Guarani international airport 20 minutes ago." She told him. Gibbs hung up the phone. He looked over at Tony.

"Pack your gear, you're going to Paraguay." Gibbs ordered. Tony walked over towards his desk to pack.

"Alone?" he asked.

"Take one of them with you. I'll start prepping the op from here." Gibbs told him and headed up to MTAC. McGee walked over to Tony with a wide, excited smile of his face.

"Yes! I have always wanted to go to Paraguay." McGee commented. Tony looked up at him. He stood up with a laugh and clapped the man's shoulders.

"Arrriba!" he shouted excitedly. Tony knew exactly who was joining him in Paraguay.

Under the bright South American sun, Tony was tapping his fingers against the dashboard of the jeep he was driving as they waited in the thick traffic.

"Ok which way to the tactical analysis teams headquarters?" Tony asked his companion who was holding up the map.

"El Derecho? Or Isquierda?" he asked, indicating to the left and right. Claire set down the map and looked at him.

"Right." She ordered.

"Derecho." He muttered. Tony nodded his head and they continued in the slow traffic, which was made up of just people walking thought the streets. Tony looked over at one of the trucks that was selling things on the side of the street.

"Ah….I shoulda brought more cash. Look at that." He commented as they passed by the collection of DVD players. Tony tapped Claire on the shoulder and gestured to his left.

"Hey, look at these guys." He nodded towards the group of men sitting around at a table, staring at them.

"Buenos Dias." He greeted as they drove by.

"It's the local bridge club." He told her jokingly. Claire laughed and Tony causally draped his arm across the back of her seat. He had to admit that this was nice. Just the two of them with no one else around to bug them. Plus he told her that he was going to take her to the tropics someday so that's what he did…..kinda. They continued down the streets and took in the different sights of the back-ally they were driving through.

"Well it's not the tropics but at least it's warm." Tony told her.

"Actually, it is the tropics, tony." She corrected, glancing around at all the sights around them. Tony rose an eyebrow from behind his sunglasses.

"Really?" he inquired curiously.

"The Tropic of Capricorn to be exact." She informed him with a smug smile. Tony nodded his head and paused before scrunching up his nose in distaste.

"Does the tropic smell kinda funny to you Claire?" he asked thoughtfully. Claire smirked. She knew exactly what he was smelling.

"It's not the tropics, Tony." She assured and gestured towards the scene beside them.

"It would be the plumbing." She informed, as the guy beside them dumped his sewage water into a trashcan. Tony made a groan of disgust as they passed.

"How come we never get sent to Paris or Hawaii?" he casually asked as they continued down the street. They glanced over at the men carrying machine guns next to the store with a bunch of flowers and stuffed animals. She smacked him on the arm playfully.

"Oh come on it'll be fun! And the best part….no Gibbs checking up on us." She reminded with a wide smirk. Tony chuckled at the comforting thought.

From MTAC Gibbs and McGee were watching the agents on the tracking device that was in their satellite phones. Currently they were parked at a spot some ways down from where they were supposed to be.

"What the hell are they doing?" Gibbs asked.

"They are stopped about 50ft. from the TACT building." McGee informed.

"Well yea I can see that McGee." He scolded sarcastically.

"Get them on the satellite phone." He ordered and McGee scurried over to do just that.

 **Tony's POV:**

Currently Claire and I were at an IPOD kiosk. We didn't have Gibbs breathing down our necks so I decided that it wouldn't hurt to stop for a little while. I was playing with one of them, money in hand. It was a sweet deal.

"Check it out Claire. IPod for 30 bucks." I told her smugly and handed the man the money. However, miss party pooper grabbed the device from my hand.

"First of all it says 'ELpod.' On the back…." She showed me and then proceeded to open the device.

"And second….there's nothing in here." She said while showing the kiosk owner the empty case. I made a face and snatched his money back from the man who just shrugged his shoulders almost sheepishly. Maybe I should bring her with me when I go sketchy market shopping. She smugly handed the device back the sneak right as I got a call on my satellite phone.

"DiNozzo." I answered.

"What's your location?" I heard Gibbs on the line. My eyes widened and I looked over to Claire with a panicked expression. 'Gibbs' I mouthed to her and her eyes widened too.

"We're still looking for the TACT building right now…uh…the town's kinda hard to navigate." I told him after a moment of thought. Technically that wasn't a lie.

"It's 50ft right in front of you DiNozzo." The boss man snapped. _Oops._ The two of us glanced around and saw the building.

"Found it." I told Gibbs as I zeroed in on the building with two armed guards in front of it.

"I take it the GPS chip in the phone is working well?" I asked innocently.

"Well yes, it is. Will you quit screwing around and get moving." Gibbs ordered.

"It's not a vacation." He reminded. _I wish it was._

"On it boss." I replied before hanging up. I looked back over at Claire and nodded towards the building. She held in a laugh at what had just happened and hopped in the passenger seat of the jeep. Giving her a small glare I got in the driver seat and we took off.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

After Tony had hung up Gibbs turned to McGee.

"Patch me in to Colonel Bushnell." He ordered. McGee rushed over to do that.

"Switch over to Southern Command." McGee quietly told the tech at the control station of MTAC. The screen switched over to show the office of the colonel.

"Colonel Bushnell. Our team is at the linkup point." Gibbs told the man.

"Their in-country guide is Joe Tobariez. He's the watch officer for the Ciudad del Este tact. Former marine, good man." The colonel told Gibbs who nodded in approval.

"Any word on Persel?" Gibbs asked.

"No, not since he came through customs. He hasn't checked in with any of our people. He's not in Paraguay on South Com. Business." The colonel informed him.

"What about somebody else's business, colonel?" Gibbs suggested.

"It's possible, I'm checking that angle now." The man told Gibbs as he worked on his computer. He shook his head at the screen.

"You know somebody higher up in the chain of command is not making this easy Jethro." He told the investigator. Gibbs licked is lips.

"Yeah." He acknowledged in a whisper and shake of his head. This was much bigger than just Persel.

 **Claire's POV:**

Eventually we arrived at the TACT building and a broad shouldered Hispanic man in casual clothing made his way over towards us.

"Agents DiNozzo and Conners. I'm Joe Tobariez, Tactical analysis team. Welcome to the middle of nowhere." He joked as we grabbed our backpacks out of the back of the jeep. I couldn't help but laugh at the man's positive attitude in a place like this.

"Nice to meet you" I politely told him. Tony looked down and noticed the man was holding a large chain.

"What's the chain for?" he asked.

"Ah…Cuidad del Este, anti-theft device." He told us as he chained up their jeep to the building. _Interesting._

"Let's get inside. You don't want to get shot on your first day." He told us somewhat jokingly. At least I hope he was joking. The three of us went inside. Once inside the front door Joe closed one of the folding gates at the door and led us up a flight of stairs to another level of the building.

"This is the wild west." He told us, leading them into the office/work area.

"If there's a profit then something is for sale. Bootlegs, drugs, guns, you name it." Joe continued as he led us into a back office area with a big poster board on the wall.

"It's also a front line for Al Qaida." He explained further. Tony and I set down our bags on one of the tables.

"What about body parts?" I asked. Tony sat down in one of the lounge chairs while Joe leaned against a desk.

"Well there's people down here that would sell you a kidney if it meant putting food on the table." He answered seriously. _It's one of those towns huh?..._

"Of course there's also folks who would gladly take yours for the same reason, Agent Conners." He added.

"Tell us about Persel." Tony suggested from his spot across from Joe.

"His intelligence work is first rate. The man has developed a lot of contacts down here." Joe told him but I could sense a bit of falsity behind his words.

"Well what do you think of him personally Mr. Tobariez?" I asked instead.

"Please its Joe….and I try not to." He told us honestly. We gave him a questioning look.

"Off the record, Persel is one creepy son of a bitch. What's he supposed to have done?" he asked the two of us. _Well at least he was honest about how he felt._

"Shipped a pair of woman's eyeballs to a transsexual sailor who killed himself." Tony causually replied, like it was something you hear every day…..cause it isn't. Joe blinked in surprise.

"And here I thought I'd seen it all." He muttered. I pulled out one of the files I had and handed him the picture of the woman beside Persel.

"Do you recognize the girl on the right?" Tony asked for me. Joe's eyes widened.

"I do…It's Persel's wife." He told us with a sigh. The two of us looked to each other in slight shock. This was an interesting development.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Gibbs was in MTAC with Tony and Claire who were still in Paraguay.

"We ID'd the girl in the photo boss." Tony told him reluctantly.

"It was Anna Real. Persel married her last year in Paraguay." Claire told him. Gibbs paused.

"How old is she?" he lowly asked. They all knew she was way too young.

"Seventeen." Claire told him with an angry expression.

"And he's been 'dating' her for about three years." Tony told him putting air quotes around dating. Gibbs and McGee looked at them with hard looks.

"The bastard is a pedophile Gibbs." Kate spat out from beside the two of them.

"Tobariez knew this?" he asked them.

"He's the one who told us, boss." Tony informed.

"I wanna talk to him" Gibbs ordered with a hard expression.

"He's out trying to find Persesl." Claire told Gibbs.

"Or he's having coffee with him." Gibbs countered.

"He looked the other way when Persel was molesting a 14 year old! What does that tell you two?" Gibbs asked them harshly. Tony and Claire looked at each other knowing he was right. Gibbs turned to McGee beside him.

"Get me Bushnell." He ordered. McGee nodded.

"You two find me Persel!" Gibbs ordered the other two on the screen before he cut their connection off.

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony and I didn't say anything but gave each other looks. We knew that Gibbs was right and we should have checked Joe before he left. We didn't know who all was involved in helping this sick, disturbing man.

"I wasn't having coffee with him." Joe spoke up from the doorway, surprising the two of us.

"But I know who was." He added. Joe turned to grab a beer out of the fridge in the room. He held one up to offer us one, but we just glared at him. He had better start spitting out what he knows before I beat it out of him.

"Did you report him to Southern Command?" I heatedly asked him taking a step forward. Joe took a swig of his beer before answering.

"Yes Agent Conners I did. But if I had my way he'd by lying there with the garbage on the street." He told me bitterly, glaring out the window. I dropped my guard a little. His emotions seemed genuine.

"But he's being protected." He added.

"By who?" Tony asked. Joe shook his head.

"Need to know. I don't." he quipped. Well that isn't helpful at all.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of spooks." He muttered sarcastically.

"Who was he having coffee with?" Tony asked the man, getting back to the previous conversation. Joe turned towards us.

"Are you ready to see the seedy underside of Ciudad del Este?" he asked seriously.

"Can it get any worse?" I sarcastically asked with raised brows. Joe smirked and looked back out the window. I guess it can.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at MTAC.

"You believe I would look the other way Gunny?!" the colonel asked Gibbs heatedly.

"No Skipper, but someone in Southern Command did." Gibbs told the man.

"Well I'll find out who and get back to ya." The colonel assured Gibbs.

"I'm gonna take him down Colonel." Gibbs told him with a sure tone.

"Just make sure you don't get taken down Jethro." The Colonel warned.

"Special Agent McGee here has my back." Gibbs assured the man. McGee looked over at him in slight shock. The colonel smacked his lips.

"Yeah, right." He muttered like that didn't really make a difference and signed off. Gibbs looked down at the file in his hands and handed McGee his coffee cup. McGee looked at it and let out a slight gasp. Gibbs was giving him coffee; he had been forgiven. McGee smiled over at Gibbs.

"Thank you. Thank you boss." He told Gibbs and took a sip of the coffee. Gibb's head shot up and he gave McGee and incredulous look.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked with a glare. McGee's eyes widened and he looked back over with confusion.

"Well…I'd….I thought that you were giving it to me?" he asked, not sure what he did wrong this time.

"To refill it McGee." Gibbs corrected with a 'duh' tone. McGee looked down in embarrassment. So much for being forgiven….

"Sorry, I'll get you another one" he muttered before rushing out of the room to get the refill. Gibbs watched him leave before smirking in amusement.

Back in Paraguay Joe was leading the agents to a more populated part of the city, where the man that was meeting with Persel was. Joe walked up to one of the venders and put his finger up against his back, like a gun. The man put his hands up in shock while Joe told the man something in Spanish. The vendor shook his head in protest and glanced back at him. When he realized it was Joe he let out a groan of playful annoyance.

"AH Joe!...Why are you always doing this to me?!" he exclaimed as he jerked away from the man.

"I'm just practicing Iggy." Joe joked back.

"I got some friends here who wanna talk to you." Joe nodded his head towards Claire and Tony who came up to the kiosk.

"Oh sure! Hey you like movies?...eh?...Mo-vees?" he spoke to them like they didn't understand English. The two looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Was he serious? Iggy looked over at Joe questioningly.

"No abla Ingles?" he asked and looked back at Tony.

"I have DVD's. Only $5 American each huh?" he bargained, and handed some of them over to Tony.

"$5 for a DVD?" Tony asked dryly, not buying it.

"You drive a hard bargain. Only 4 for you." Iggy told him. Tony's eyes immediately widened and he quickly took off his sunglasses.

"Only 4 bucks?!" he asked and reached for the movies.

"Got any Hitchcock" he asked eagerly.

"I have everything my friend. I have action, I have the comedy, I have whatever you want." Iggy continued while gesturing to his collection of movies. Claire and Joe watched in amusement as Tony was being drawn into buying some. Before he could get his cash out Claire quickly snatched the DVD out of Tony's hand.

"Actually we're more interested in information Iggy." She told the man while handing the DVD back to him. Tony pouted.

"Do you like handbags miss?" Iggy asked before walking over to his set of 'designer' handbags. He wiggled his eyebrows while handing her one. Claire looked very pleased as she took it.

"Oh, Lois Viton." She marveled while looking the bag over. Tony was giving her a 'really' look, but she didn't notice. She was doing the same thing he was.

"Wow, it looks so real." She commented in shock.

"$20 dollars, or 2 for 30." Iggy told her. Claire looked up in shock but before she could answer Tony snatched the bag out of her hands while smirking. Nothing like sweet justice.

"Like we already said, we're more interested in information Iggy." Tony told him not looking away from the now pouting Claire. He pulled out the picture and showed it to the man.

"Seen the girl on the right before?" he asked. Iggy looked carefully at the picture.

"Ah, si." He nodded but that was all he said. The investigators gave each other a look. He was going to be a challenge.

"Tell me about her." Tony told Iggy.

"Hey….. I heard she passed" he told them.

"Passed? You mean she had her eyeball ripped out of her skull, yea Iggy she passed." Tony told the man sarcastically.

"We wanna know who did it, and why." Claire clarified.

"Life is so cheap here miss. Who can say why…." Iggy started nonchalantly but Tony cut him off.

"Persel can." He commented. Iggy stared at him.

"You seen him around lately?" Tony asked, to see if he would lie. Iggy thought for a moment.

"You see Persel he…he's a good man." He told the agents, skirting around the question.

"That's not what he asked Iggy." Joe countered. Iggy shot him a nervous glare.

"He wants to know if you've seen him." Joe repeated sternly to the man.

"No." Iggy protested with a wry smile. The agents just stared at him knowingly.

"No, I mean….is…is he in trouble or what?" Iggy redirected again. Claire's satellite phone began ringing. She reached into her bag and answered it, pausing the conversation for a moment. Iggy looked excitedly at the device while she got some answers from McGee.

"Alright thanks." She hung up and turned to Tony.

"He found us a hotel." She informed him.

"Good. We need to find Persel. You help us, we'll help you." Tony told Iggy.

"How much for the phone?" Iggy immediately asked, eying Claire's phone.

"The phone's not for sale." She countered. Iggy scoffed.

"Oh come on….." he murmured. Iggy quickly grabbed two of the bags and set them in front of her.

"All this plus $50 US cash. Come on.." he prodded with a pleading smile.

"It's government property." She countered again. Tony thought for a moment and snatched it out of her hands, leaving her in shock.

"I'll tell you what Iggy. I'll give you the phone if you promise to tell me when Persel contacts you." Tony bargained. Claire protested and reached for the phone.

"What?! You're not authorized to give up my phone." She argued and they both had a solid hold on the phone. For a moment, they tugged it back and forth childishly.

"Agent Conners." Tony muttered harshly while giving her a look. In that look Claire saw a scheme brewing and she began picking up that he was planning something.

"You're interrupting my negotiation." He scolded. Iggy meanwhile was having an internal battle while the two had a stare off. Claire reluctantly let go. Tony held out the phone towards Iggy.

"Deal?" he asked. Iggy's eyes got big.

"Si, if Persel contacts me…I tell you." He assured.

"The phone number is on the back." Tony showed him before handing the device to Iggy. Iggy smiled inn delight.

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at MTAC McGee was watching Iggy's movements with the GPS on the satellite my phone.

"It's a great idea Tony. The GPS in Claire's phone is reading loud and clear. I'll call when Iggy moves." McGee told Tony.

"Roger that, Probie." Tony replied. I walked back into the meeting room where Tony hung up the phone and grudgingly walked over towards him. He had been giving me the silent treatment ever since I argued with him over the phone, and honestly I was kinda tired of it.

"So you want me to say 'sorry' or something?" I asked reluctantly, determined not to let him pick up that I missed his company. I was much too stubborn. Tony didn't look at me but sighed and continued working on whatever he was doing. I bit my lip in frustration. He was not letting up and I almost wondered if I truly hurt his feelings.

"You could have given him your phone you know." I protested stubbornly instead of giving him an apology. Tony looked over at me.

"The lead agent never gives up his line of communication." he countered while holding up his satellite phone. I scoffed and gave him an 'oh really' smile.

"When did you become the lead agent? I thought we were a team?" I questioned. _Who the heck does he think he is?_

"We are….I'm the team leader." He quipped while putting on his sunglasses dramatically before walking around me dismissively. I gaped and whipped around.

"What makes you think you're the leader? I'm obviously the more mature one here." I countered. Tony thought for a moment and then shook his head.

"Nah.." he called out and continued walking away from me.

"So I'm the follower?" I called after him with a scoff. Tony walked out the door, not answering. I growled and picked up my bag and chased after him.

"I don't think so." I muttered bitterly. If he thinks he can push me around he's got another thing coming.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at MTAC Gibbs was in conference with the colonel.

"Oh yea, I've seen that look before….Bosnia. When we returned to Birchco. Two days after NATO ordered us out." Gibbs commented, watching the colonel's expression. He could tell that something was wrong.

"I can still smell it burning." The colonel commented sadly and took in a breath before giving them the heavy news.

"I have been given a direct order to…..protect Persel….as a valuable intelligence asset." He reluctantly told them. He wasn't happy about his assignment, knowing all the man had done.

"Regardless of what he's done?..." Gibbs asked in disbelief.

"Regardless of what he's done." The colonel spat out in confirmation.

"With all due respect Colonel…" Gibbs started, but the man cut him off.

"You don't have to say it, Gunny!" he spat out. The colonel was obviously struggling with his options about this. He shook his head in frustration before looking back at the screen with a hard look.

"There are only two things a Marine can do when he receives a direct order….obey or resign." The colonel recited with a resigned tone to his voice. Gibbs looked at the man for a moment.

"You're resigning your commission?" he asked. The colonel rubbed his face tiredly.

"I will never have another Birchco on my conscience." He told Gibbs with strong conviction. Gibbs looked down in thought as McGee watched the two.

"Can you find out who's protecting him?" Gibbs asked the man.

"Uh…its someone at the FARM but I have no idea who it is." The colonel told them.

"Sir how do you contact him." McGee piped up.

"Encrypted teleconference like this." The colonel answered.

"You've seen him?" Gibbs asked. McGee thought for a moment, coming up with a possible plan.

"No he's always in the shadows. Corny, like some….cold war film." The colonel explained to Gibbs.

"That's corny but it's effective." Gibbs commented. McGee came up behind Gibbs to pitch his plan.

"Boss if the colonel can get him on the teleconference, his encryptor can patch him to us." McGee explained. Gibbs turned to look at the Probie in thought before looking back at the colonel on the screen.

"Skipper…"

 **Claire's POV:**

Iggy was on the move. Tony and I were trailing him through the crowds while Tony stayed on the phone with McGee in case we lost him.

"Where the hell are we McGee?" Tony asked as they kept an eye on Iggy's back.

"San Gusta street, near the heart of the city." McGee told him as he watched the GPS in MTAC.

"Ok he's turning left." McGee told them. Tony rolled his eyes.

"I know he turned left, I have a visual." Tony sarcastically told him.

"He's stopping up ahead" I relayed to Tony. The two of us paused and watched as Iggy sat down at a café table with someone.

"Who's he with?" Tony asked from behind me. I pulled out my binoculars to get a better view. Iggy was at the table talking to Persel. _That rat!_ I watched as Persel handed the man some money while talking.

"Persel." I told him with a frown.

"Ok it's Persel, should we bring him in boss?" Tony asked.

"No." he answered.

"What?!" Tony asked in shock.

"No, DiNozzo you heard me. Tail him." Gibbs ordered as he stood up to stand next to McGee. Tony shifted the phone so he could whisper to me.

"Gibbs wants us to follow him." He relayed to me. I paused in thought.

"Why?" I asked, looking back at him in confusion.

"Does it matter?" Tony asked. I guess not. I nodded and we turned back to watching the two. Persel and Iggy stood up from the table and walked farther into the city. Tony and I followed.

"They're heading into a hotel boss." Tony relayed.

"Follow, don't engage unless you have to." Gibbs told him. The two continued towards the hotel.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

McGee furrowed his eyebrows as something came up on the GPS.

"Iggy's altitude is increasing." McGee told Gibbs. Gibbs watched the altitude rise for a moment.

"He's in an elevator. 3rd floor DiNozzo." Gibbs told him.

 **Claire's POV:**

I opened the elevator doors and walked into the dark hallway on the third floor. Looking to my left I spotted Iggy less than a foot away. Iggy noticed my presence and froze before quickly walking the other way. I just stood in the hallway as he went around the corner. Less than a second later he backpedaled into the hallway with Tony pointing a gun at his forehead.

"Going somewhere Iggy?" Tony asked with a glare.

"To find you...my friend. Senor Persel he contacted me." Iggy told him eagerly with an innocent raise of his hands. Tony turned Iggy around so now both he and I were looking at him, but kept a tight hold on the front of his shirt.

"Did he now?" Tony continued lowly.

"Si." Iggy nervously insisted glancing between the two of us.

"What's he doing here Iggy?" Tony asked the scared man. Iggy looked at him with mock confusion.

"Well it's a hotel….he's staying here…" he trailed off. I was fed up with this BS. I clicked my gun and pointed it at his family jewels.

"Wrong answer." I growled. Iggy immediately covered them in fear. Time to get some real answers.

After Iggy finally gave us the information we wanted I quickly pistol whipped him and led the way towards the room. Tony rose a brow at my actions and followed after me.

"You know you're kinda cute when you get all mad." He casually commented, referring to my stunt with my gun. I turned back towards him with an unamused glare and kept going. The two of us headed down the hallway following Iggy's instructions. As we got closer we heard some shouting from inside.

"Do it! I'd rather be dead than spend one more day with a monster like you!" we heard a woman screaming from the other side of the door.

"Close your eyes Anna." Persel ordered. Just as she we kicked the door of the room in to reveal two agents with their guns pointed at Persel. He turned to look at us in shock, with a silenced pistol in his hand aiming at the girl in the photo. I guess she wasn't the one killed after all. Not that we were going to let Persel have another chance at her.

"Drop the weapon." I ordered. The girl looked at us with pure relief. Persel didn't move so Tony and I moved in closer with both of our guns trained on him.

"Now lookie there Claire, he's actually thinking about trying it." Tony muttered to me, loud enough for all of us in the room to hear. I had a solution for that little problem.

"You double tap the head I'll double tap the heart." I suggested.

"Deal." Tony agreed. After what seemed like forever Persel finally dropped the gun onto the bed.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back in MTAC McGee was working on patching the mysterious person into the NCIS feed.

"Standby, my FARM contact is coming on the system…." the colonel told them as he worked on his own computer while McGee was at their computer.

"…..Now. He's all yours Gunny." The colonel told him.

"Patch me in McGee." Gibbs ordered. Immediately the screen came up just like the skipper said. They could see the silhouette of a man but that was it because he was completely hidden in the shadows, as was the room around him.

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. You either give up Persel, or I will personally compromise the identity of this man." Gibbs told him, not waiting for a response. McGee pulled up the picture of Ari that they had taken when he infiltrated NCIS.

"Ari Aswari. Our link to Al Quida…for a child molester." Gibbs suggested. You could tell by the body language that whoever it was, was seriously considering his options.

"Your call." Gibbs told him before signaling to McGee to cut the connection. McGee stood up and looked over at Gibbs.

"What next?" he asked. Gibbs sighed heavily.

"Now we wait McGee." He answered honestly.

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony and I were interrogating Persel back at the TACT headquarters. During the whole thing, Persel wore a smug smile on his face and I wanted to smack it right off.

"According to your…..wife….you're not just getting intel on rackets in Ciudad del Este, you're actually running some of them." Tony commented from his seat across from Persel.

"Drugs, organ harvesting, child prostitution rings." I added with a look of disgust. Persel merely glanced over at me.

"It's my mission to infiltrate these organizations, I'm very good at it." He told us deviously. I nodded and licked my lips.

"And having sex with underage children?" I spat out. Persel just quirked his lips in amusement, not answering the question. I glared fiercely down at him.

"Once she testifies you're gonna spend the rest of your life in Leavenworth, Persel." Tony told the man. He deserves much more in my opinion.

"No, no you misunderstand Agent DiNozzo. Anna wasn't threatening to tell our government, she was threatening to tell hers." Persel explained as he leaned towards Tony who gave him a curious look.

"What difference does that make?" he asked. Persel laughed in shock while Tony continued to look confused. Joe then walked into the room and with a furious expression leaned down to uncuff Persel. I watched with wide eyes.

"You should have shot him while you had the chance DiNozzo." He angrily muttered. The two of us looked at him in shock.

"Wha….you know what he is, what he did how could you?" I rapidly asked as Persel rubbed his sore wrists.

"Same way you do, following orders Agent Conners." Joe told me. I looked at Persel in shock and he sent back a devious smile.

"Now if you will excuse me….I have a job to do." Persel told us with mock sadness and walked out. After he walked out I couldn't stand it anymore. I immediately grabbed my gun from the table and stormed out. Tony tore off after me.

"Claire, where are you going?" he called after me. I merely glanced at him over my shoulder.

"I can't let him get off like that. If I have to turn my badge in because of it so be it, but he's not getting away with this." I told him determinedly. Tony tried to grab me but I evaded him and stormed after Persel.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In MTAC McGee whipped around from his computer.

"Boss, there's another encrypted transmission coming in over the system." He told Gibbs, knowing it was the mystery man.

"Up on the screen." Gibbs told him. McGee did and the feed showed Persel walking out of the TACT building. The camera zoomed in on a smug Persel walking down the street as a free man. McGee and Gibbs looked at each other in confusion. Suddenly a scope came up on the screen, aiming at Persel's forehead. Then a shot. Persel fell down dead. The mystery contact popped back up on the screen before cutting the connection. He had made his decision. McGee and Gibbs sat there in silent shock at what just happened. Gibbs sighed and took off his headset.

"Bring our people home." He told McGee before walking out of the room.

 **Claire's POV:**

I stormed out onto the crowded street and looked around for the retreating figure of Persel. I found him and immediately began following. I heard the door open behind me and the sound of running feet but I didn't slow down. Tony finally caught up and grabbed me by the arm, spinning me to face him.

"Claire I know how you feel but…" he never got to finish his sentence as we heard a shot and Tony dove overtop of me on instinct. The two of us looked up from the ground, wondering where the shot had come from. I froze as I saw the limp body of Persel lying a few yards in front of us. I guess he got what was coming to him after all. Tony and I made slightly shaken eye contact and I swallowed as he sighed tiredly.

"Let's go home Claire." He muttered to me. I looked over at him and nodded in agreement. I was very ready to be home.


	21. Chapter 21

[SWAK 1]

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony and I walked down the hall towards the cubicle spaces. He had just come off the elevator while I was coming from one of the back rooms. He looked over at me once or twice as we walked side by side before deciding to comment. I knew the silence wouldn't last long.

"Wow, what'd you do? Spend the night Sake bombing?" he asked with a grimace as I wiped my nose miserably. I had spent the last few days getting over a cold; for some reason, it was hanging on and I hate being sick. I also had snappy moods when I get sick so his comment rubbed me the wrong way. I glared over at him.

"It's a cold, Tony." I told him we reached the desks. I passed by Kate and watched as she glanced over at him questioningly.

"Sake bombing?" she asked. Tony dropped his bag by his desk and walked to stand in front of hers. I dropped my bag off before joining them.

"Oh come on Kate, don't tell me you've never heard of Sake bombing." He asked. Kate glowered at him.

"Would I ask if I… you know what, forget it." She dismissed irritably, not wanting to get into another debate.

"I don't wanna know." She told us with her hands up in a 'drop it' fashion. Tony and I looked over at each other in curiosity.

"You take a cup of Sake, you drop it in a hot beer, you knock it back then…" Tony finished with an elaborate display of a bombing noise, his eyes widened and hands moving accordingly. I watched in amusement.

"Sake bombing" I reiterated, mimicking his hand motions. Kate nodded in understanding.

"Great for a cold." He informed with a nod and looked at me pointedly. No, I was not about to spend another night Sake bombing with him. Last time didn't end so well.

"I'll stick to honey and hot tea, thanks." I replied to his unspoken request, the two of us sharing a knowing look. We were not to talk or repeat that night.

"McGee." Tony called without looking away from me. The man in question looked over at the three of us.

"Kate's never been Sake bombing." He informed while looking over at Tim. McGee thought for a moment.

"Yea I don't think I have either." He told Tony with disinterest as he sorted the mail in his hands. Tony threw up his hands in disbelief.

"We work with a pair of wankers." He told me in mock disappointment. I began to giggle but covered it up quickly when I saw the boss man walking in.

"And you make three, DiNozzo." Gibbs added as he walked behind Tony. This time I did giggle at Tony's expression.

"Morning Boss." Tony quickly greeted.

"Morning." I greeted with a very stuffy nose. Gibbs paused and looked around McGee to look at me.

"Cold or Flu?" he asked walking back towards us.

"Um…just plain cold. And don't worry I will sneeze into my tissues." I assured him, holding up my stack of tissues for emphasis. Gibbs nodded and walked back over to his desk.

"Unlike some people." Kate added with a pointed look at Tony. _That is true._

"I have allergies, Kate." He clarified with a 'that so doesn't count' look. _It totally does count._

"Never had allergies. Never had a cold." Gibbs told us as he cleared his desk. The four of us looked over at him.

"Never had a cold?" I asked.

"Nope. Never had the flu either." Gibbs told me, still glancing over the mail McGee left on his desk. I turned towards Tony.

"Why do I believe that?" I whispered curiously. It's amazing that this news didn't shock me at all. Tony lifted his own stack of mail to cover his mouth like he was letting me in on a secret.

"If you were a bug would you attack Gibbs?" he asked jokingly making me laugh.

"I get colds all the time." McGee told us as he handed Kate her mail.

"Of course you do Probie." Tony commented. McGee squinted in confusion before holding up a letter, marked with a lipstick stain on the seal. Tony looked up, seeing the kiss mark while McGee read the front. _Must be for Tony, I know I don't get lipstick marks on my mail._

"This is just addressed to NCIS Special Agent." He told us. Tony wiggled his fingers and attempted pluck the letter from his hand.

"I think that's mine, McGee" McGee didn't let go and just looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"How do you know?" he asked not buying it. Tony glared and yanked the letter away before flipping it around so McGee saw the kiss, as if that would explain everything.

"I recognize the lips." He answered with a sultry lilt and backed over towards his desk.

"And the scent." He added in a sing-songy voice as he walked. I rolled my eyes in annoyance and felt a tightness in my chest. Was that jealousy?...no can't be I would get jealous of Tony's other women.

"Gummy bears?" Kate asked with a high pitched child's voice, instantly brightening my mood. Tony ignored the comment and opened it from the side with his letter opener. He stuck out his tongue childishly and chuckled in triumph, awaiting what was inside. I turned to look at him, leaning against Kate's desk anticipating what was inside. He raised it to his lips and blew to open the letter. However, as he did a cloud of white powder flew out of it. My smile dropped instantly as I realized what had just happened. Alarms went off in my head and we all froze with wide eyes trying to keep a calm composure. Tony grimaced from all the debris on him and slowly started moving around his desk. He played it off but I could see his worry in the short glance he shot me.

Gibbs stood up on his desk and loudly whistled to the room, who stopped to listen.

"We've opened a letter with white powder, use the southeast corridor to the waiting room. You all know the drill." Gibbs ordered calmly. All the others left as was the procedure for a biological attack. Tony started gently moving the letter to his desk and set the trashcan on top of it. Kate stood up in alarm and opened one of her drawers.

"Tony." She called and tossed him a water bottle before calling the emergency line. Tony poured the water over his hands as part of the procedure, trying to get it rid of the powder on his body. McGee and I slowly made our way over to the other side of the office.

"Letter opened in special agent Gibb's office dispersed a fine white powder. Initiating bio attack procedures, third floor is evacuating." She informed before hanging up. Gibbs looked over at the two of us.

"McGee, Claire you up on procedures?" Gibbs asked, knowing we were the newest to the team.

"Yea we uh….we shower, burn our clothes, get our blood tested, nobody leaves the building until the substance is identified, except…." I trailed off looking over at Tony in worry. Kate joined us over on the other side of the office area as Tony carefully started rinsing off his head too.

"Except me. I win a free trip to Bethesda to be pricked like a pincushion." Tony finished for me. Kate whipped her head around at an unfamiliar sound.

"They've shut down the air." She told us as we cautiously watched Tony. Pushing my fear aside I straightened up and composed myself.

"Let's hit the showers Tony." I instructed calmly as I nodded in that direction. Tony dropped the empty water bottle and glanced over towards me, squinting to keep the water out of his eyes.

"I thought you'd never ask." He smiled stiffly and followed after us.

"Sorry boss." He muttered out as he passed Gibbs. Gibbs looked around the office to see it empty before staring at the letter sitting on Tony's desk.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

All the agents were in adjacent shower stalls. They could still hear each other and the there was nothing covering the very fronts of the showers. Currently they were vigorously scrubbing themselves down as protocol demanded.

"Who would want to send me a letter with Anthrax?" Tony asked above the noise of the falling water.

"Pick a girl Tony, any girl." Kate answered. Tony paused for a moment.

"It's not funny Kate." He quipped. Claire paused and glanced over to the wall between her and Tony. He wasn't usually serious but even him joking about it not being funny meant that he was nervous about what was going to happen. She was scared for him.

"Yea, I know." She told him.

"This is serious." He scolded.

"I know Tony, I'm sorry." Kate apologized.

"At this very instant someone is incineration my Airmingildo Zana suit, my Armani tie, my Gulches' Gargano shirt, and my Gucci shoes." He listed off, pouting like a girl on the last name as he worked up a lather. Claire scoffed in disbelief at his list. Leave it to Tony to whine about his clothes.

"Hey you know it might not be anthrax." McGee called from the other side of Kate.

"I like the sound of that Probie!" Tony praised.

"Yea it could be smallpox, bubonic plague, cholera…" McGee rattled off.

"Probie!" Tony cut off harshly. McGee paused with an 'oops' face.

"…Foot powder, face powder, talcum powder." Tim listed instead. Tony lifted a finger, having an 'aha' moment.

"Honey dust." He concluded.

"Honey dust?" McGee reiterated in confusion.

"Honey dust, I give it to girls." Tony clarified. Kate turned towards the wall.

"Women, sorry Kate." Tony corrected as if he just knew what her face was like. He knew Claire wouldn't care in this case.

"I give it to women at Christmastime. It's very sensuous, you apply it with a feather." Tony explained to them. Claire chuckled bitterly. Why was she still reacting this harshly to Tony's stories?...the cold it must be the cold.

"You don't use the whole chicken?" She asked sarcastically. Tony looked at the wall between them with an offended face.

"I've never heard of honey dust." McGee called.

"Yea that's cause your mother raised you to respect women McGee." Kate told him.

"It makes a woman's skin feel silky smooth. When kissed, it tastes like honey." Gibbs explained from his shower all the way on the end. Is sync all the agents peeked around the edge of their showers too look towards their boss incredulously.

"I got a whole box of honey dust last Christmas…..no card." Gibbs continued, as if that was typical. He didn't even look out of his stall to see their shocked faces. Tony leaned back into his shower and shook his head in exasperation.

"I think the post office screwed up boss. Someone else got your bottle of jack and you got their…." He started, trying to explain the situation.

"Hey doesn't the post office irradiate our mail?" Claire cut him off thoughtfully.

"That's right. All federal mail if funneled through the INP facility in Bridgeport, New Jersey. If it has DNA it dies." McGee told them.

"So the diseases that you named….they….they have DNA?" Tony asked, hoping that this meant good news for him.

"They sure do." McGee told him happily.

"Aw you should have let him squirm." Kate scolded playfully. Tony laughed, happy that he was in the clear.

"Then it's no worries." He told them.

"Unless the post office screwed up again." Gibbs commented, knowing it would get Tony worked up.

Back in the office a team of specialist in hazmat suits walked over towards Tony's desk where the letter was sitting. One guy carefully placed it inside a sealed bag and took it to the elevator while the others thoroughly cleaned Tony's desk. The man with the letter walked over as the doors opened to reveal Abby in a hazmat suit. She walked over and placed that sealed bag into another bag for extra safety before riding down to her lab.

 **Claire's POV:**

Down in autopsy all of us were waiting for our blood tests to be analyzed; sporting identical NCIS jumpsuits since our clothes had been burned. Tony and I were sitting on one of the tables while McGee paced and Kate sat by Gibbs.

"You should have given the letter to me, McGee." Gibbs told the pacing man.

"I know boss." McGee answered apologetically. No matter how much we all joked about it we were still scared about what was going to happen. It's not like this happens every day.

"It's not McGee's fault. Tony snatched it out of his hand." Kate countered as she watched Ducky finish taking blood from Gibbs.

"Oh so now it's my bad?" Tony snapped from beside me.

"You did grab it Tony." McGee reminded.

"That's a lame excuse Probie, you should have stopped me." Tony countered easily. Gibbs walked over to a shelf and grabbed a gas mask and papers before heading towards the doors.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ducky asked, slightly blocking his path.

"Going to find out who sent the letter." Gibbs replied. Ducky stood in front of the doors now with his hands spread.

"Uh uh…You cannot leave autopsy, its negative pressure. So airborne pathogens can't contaminate the rest of the building." Ducky told him.

"Ducky I have been scrubbed, sanitized, and for all I know sterilized. I have an investigation to open." Gibbs protested. The four of us and Palmer all watched as the two debated. Ducky is one of the only people willing to go against Gibb's iron will.

"I have a possible cotangent to contain. Until your blood test clears you, I cannot permit you to leave this room." Ducky told him sternly. The two stared at each other but it was broken by the sound of the back door opening. We all turned to watch the men with breathing masks and jumpsuits walk in towards us.

"Who opened the envelope?" the man in front asked. Tony immediately pointed to McGee.

"He did." He accused. McGee's eyes widened in alarm as they walked towards him and he stuttered out protests.

"No no no no…it…it wasn't me…." he explained.

"I'm just kidding." Tony called as he hopped off the autopsy table he we were sitting on. The man turned towards him.

"I'm your pincushion." He told them seriously…well as serious as he could be.

"Did you inhale any powder?" the man sternly asked. I could tell that Tony wanted to say something snarky but decided against it, his nervousness taking over.

"I might have." He told them.

"We took blood. Jimmy?" Ducky interrupted and indicated to Palmer who had the samples. During this interruption Tony glanced over at me with an unreadable expression. I just sent him a comforting smile, hoping to take away some of the anxiety.

"Uh yea, 5 blood vials on ice to go." Palmer told them and went to grab the samples. Just then I sneezed loudly, turning everyone's attention towards me. I looked at everyone's wary expressions.

"It's a cold, I had it before I came in this morning." I assured them. They were looking like I had the plague or something _…_ _.knock on wood._

"Which makes you even more susceptible to airborne pathogens. You should go to the hospital too." Ducky told me. I immediately shook my head in protests. I don't do hospitals.

"Oh no…no.." I told them stubbornly.

"Claire, play it safe. Go with Tony." Gibbs told me with fatherly concern. Kate scoffed and sent a look at Tony.

"That's safe?" she asked nodding towards him. Gibbs looked at me and gestured for me to go anyway. I looked over at Tony, not happy with the arrangement. He just popped his eyebrows up playfully as I hopped off the table too. I knew he was trying to make me feel better since he knew about my dislike for hospitals.

"How long are we going to have to stay in isolation?" I asked them tiredly.

"At least overnight." The man explained.

"Can we have double beds? Cause I hate it when you get that crease when you push the two…" Tony started but Gibbs gave him a head slap with his stack of papers. Tony stopped talking with a grimace frozen on his face. He then turned around pointing at Gibbs accusingly.

"If I get anthrax how would you feel?" he asked Gibbs in reference to slapping him.

"Not as bad as you DiNozzo." Gibbs told him easily. Tony nodded in agreement at the clever dig.

"Let's go." The man ordered and Tony and I left with him.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

As they walked off the two immediately began bickering.

"I'm warning you Tony, I don't feel well…"

"Will you relax, you need a foot massage…."

"I don't want you anywhere near my feet." Claire spat at him as they walked out the door with the men.

"You've got pretty feet." he commented while doing a jig, annoying her even more. The two continued to bicker about touching feet as they were led down the hall. Even when the door closed and muffled the noises the team could still hear them. Gibbs looked over at Ducky, hoping to start work but the Doctor just crossed his arms defiantly. Gibbs threw the mask and papers down onto one of the tables with a huff.

The team was worried about the two heading to the hospital. It was like their family so of course they were scared about the possible outcomes. However, they all knew that it was a good thing Tony and Claire went together. They worked to balance out each other's nerves and keep each other calm during this whole ordeal. They would be fine….hopefully.

Down in the lab Abby was analyzing the envelope containing the white powder. It was inside a glass pressurized box and glove holes for her to stick her hands into to work on the paper without being exposed. Using her magnifying lamp over the box, she carefully took a sample of the powder and placed it inside a small glass tube. She placed it inside an adjacent glass box and sealed that off. Taking her hands out of the glove compartments she turned a lever on the smaller box to pressurize it. As she did she subtly glanced up at the handsome delivery man who was working on the orders for him to take some samples to a bigger lab for analysis. He shot a polite smile back. Once the smaller box had been pressurized Abby opened it and took the vial out. She placed it in an evidence bag and began labelling it to send with the man. She glanced back up with a smile and he sent another back before awkwardly leaning against her desk, waiting for her to be done. She closed the box up and walked the vial over to him.

"So how long to Atlanta?" she casually asked. He handed her the sign off paper with a smile.

"Um, less than an hour." He told her. Abby nodded. He sighed and headed out the door, glancing back as he did.

"Your music is sweet." He complimented as he walked out the door.

"So. Are. You." Abby mused to herself with a satisfied hum. He was fine! She let out a happy whistle as she placed her second vial in her machine and started it up as she rubbed her gloved hands together in anticipation.

"Talk to mamma." She ordered her machine. Once it was running Abby casually did a couple cartwheels over to her computer station.

"I didn't take you for the cheerleader type, Abby." Gibbs voice came up on the big screen. With a smile she turned her monitor on so she could see him down in autopsy.

"Oh I'm not. Granny taught me that." She explained.

"She was an Olympic swimmer, won the silver in the 200 meter butterfly." Abby continued. Down in autopsy, on their screen Abby was facing her own monitor, which was away from theirs. So, technically they were watching her back as she talked.

"What does swimming have to do with cartwheeling?" Jimmy asked as he leaned over to get in view for Abby.

"Nothing." Abby told him simply. Jimmy nodded and leaned toward McGee.

"I don't understand." He whispered.

"You can't think logically with Abby. Her mind works like a pachinko machine." McGee explained.

"What was the powder Abby?" Gibbs asked her, getting right down to it.

"White?...with a hint of tan." She told him with an apologetic nod of her head. That was all she could give him right now.

"Abs!" Gibbs scolded.

"Well that's all I know until my baby speaks to me. I'm auto sampling for anthrax, botulism, plague, cholera….all those nasty little bio-buggers." She explained.

"How long?!" Gibbs exclaimed, frustrated that he could do nothing to help his team at the moment.

"A couple hours." She told him.

"I thought you said these tests were fast." Gibbs told her with a raise of his hands.

"It's not a pregnancy test Gibbs." She countered.

 **Claire's POV:**

In Bethesda hospital, I was holding a cup of pee that he had to turn in to the doctors. Gross, but it had to be done for them to run tests on me. As I walked out in my hospital attire I met with Tony and the doctor.

"You should drink more water." Tony told me as I walked up to them. I gave him a 'don't mess with me' look.

"Tony.." I growled in warning.

"Your urine is too dark." He explained as I handed the doctor the cup.

"I had a cold…..I can't believe your commenting on my….eww." I trailed off in disgust. Why was he even paying attention to my pee cup? Tony smugly smiled down at me, obviously pleased he was still frustrating me.

"Neither could I." the doctor added as he walked back towards us.

"Dr. Brad Pitt." He introduced himself. Tony's face immediately dropped in slight confusion. I continued looking at him, something seemed familiar about him but I couldn't quite place it.

"Yes, that's my real name and no relation. But I wish we were, I'd love to meet Angelina Jolie." He joked with us while smiling down at me in particular. I laughed back shyly, running a hand through my hair. Cute and funny. He gestured for the two of us to follow. Tony stared at me incredulously but I just shrugged him off and followed after the good doctor. Tony quickly rushed up and leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"If I said what he said you would…" I elbowed him in the gut as we walked. Tony grunted before finishing his sentence.

"..elbow me." _Well he was right._ We walked into a giant room that contained another glass room with beds; the isolation ward.

"Well it's not the four seasons but let's hope we're not here long." Dr. Pitt told us. Tony and I glanced at each other and reluctantly walked inside as he opened the doors. My nerves around hospitals were starting to get worse but Tony was there to calm me down. The airlock closed behind us and once it was activated a red light came on and the whole room was turned dark, with the exception of the blue fluorescent lights in the glass box.

"Negative pressure?" I asked.

"Mmhmm. Let's airflow in but not out." the hunky doctor explained. He pushed the button to open another set of doors, leading in the main room area letting the lights turn back on. Once the doors closed, it was back to the blue lighting. A nurse was standing in the center of the room waiting for us.

"I'd like you to meet Lt. Emma Neman, your duty nurse for tonight." Dr. Pitt introduced. Tony smiled at her in interest, making me automatically dislike her.

"Hi guys, how are you?" she politely asked. Dr. Pitt handed us a couple cups with some pills in it.

"As a precaution I'm starting your prophylaxis with streptomyosin." He explained. Tony chuckled with a broad grin before trailing off with a hum as he examined the pills. I rolled my eyes, he probably just thought those words sounded funny and had no idea what it meant.

"Prophylaxis is a measure taken for the prevention of disease, Tony." I explained to him. Tony just raised a brow and nodded his head.

"That's the way I use it." He muttered jokingly before we knocked back the pills. The Lieutenant giggled, making another wave of jealousy spark in me.

"Oh you don't want to encourage him Lt." I told her somewhat icily. Tony gave me a questioning glance but I simply ignored it.

"Sorry." She replied, holding back the giggle before getting serious again.

"Um take any bed you want you guys." She told us.

"Thank you nurse Emma." Tony thanked before trailing right behind me like a puppy as I walked to the end of the room. I turned and glared at him as he set himself on the bed right next to me.

"But it's good to keep some separation between you, just in case one of you is infected." Dr. Pitt intervened on my behalf.

"Thank you doctor." I chirped as I hopped up onto my end bed. Tony reluctantly moved, giving the doctor a small glare.

"Brad, we're informal here." The doctor corrected with a smile.

"Claire" I supplied with a flirty smile back. If Tony was going to annoy me by flirting, then two could play at this game. The doctor smiled at me for a moment before walking out, me watching his backside intently as he did. Tony loudly cleared his throat as he took the bed on the other side of the room straddling the end.

"Got some sunlamps, Brad." Tony asked, over enunciating his name in a bitter tone.

"UV kills the bacteria in the air, although I could arrange for a sunlamp if you wish." He told Tony.

"Oh not for me, it's for Claire." Tony answered while looking over at my now confused face.

"What?" I asked. He was up to something.

"Yea a little nude sunbathing might get rid of those tan lines." He told me mock seriously. I glowered at him.

"Doctor, could you put him to sleep please." I hastily asked. Brad just chuckled awkwardly and gestured for them to leave.

"By nurse Emma." Tony told the Lt. as the two walked out. She giggled a 'bye' to him making me growl. I quickly shook myself out of it as Tony turned towards me. _What was with me today?_

"I thought you had a boyfriend?" Tony asked as he looked at me with an unidentifiable expression.

"I do….so?" I asked him, not sure what his point was.

"Why are you making bedroom eyes at Dr. Brad Pitt over there?" he accused with a glare. _Was he jealous?_

"There's nothing wrong with looking and appreciating a good thing." I told him. It's not like I was planning on sleeping with him, I mean I do have a boyfriend to think about. Plus, Tony does this all the time. Tony just grumbled something I couldn't hear and flopped backwards onto the hospital bed. I sighed and relaxed on my side, this was going to be a long day.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"SWAK?" Gibbs asked.

"It's sealed with a kiss Gibbs. Didn't you ever get a love letter?" Abby asked the monitor as she examined the envelope in the security box. Gibbs scrunched his face up in uncomfortable thought.

"Does a 'dear john' count?" he asked her.

"Aw…I feel sorry for you Gibbs." Abby told him sympathetically.

"Is there a return address?" Gibbs asked, brushing it off. Abby flipped the envelope over.

"27 Old Millbottom rd. Annapolis Maryland." She read off.

"McGee you got it?" Gibbs asked pointing over towards Ducky's desk.

"Got it, I wish I still had my PDA." He mumbled. Kate nodded in agreement.

"Use those." Gibbs told him, pointing to the desk again. The two agents hopped off the autopsy tables and headed that way.

"Um…a…a…agent Gibbs? Doctor Mallard…doesn't have…" Jimmy began, trying to explain to a frustrated Gibbs.

"Requisition replacement cellphones and weapons for my team, go." Gibbs told Palmer without room for argument. Jimmy looked at him in confusion.

"Pistols?" he asked, his hands making a motion like pulling a trigger.

"Well no Palmer, crossbows if you think they might work better." Gibbs told him, his words dripping with sarcasm. Palmer rushed away.

"Cancelled stamp?" Gibbs asked, getting back to Abby.

"Noon, yesterday Annapolis." She told him.

"Open it." Gibbs told her in exasperation. Abby straightened up at his tone.

"Normally I would request a 'please' but considering the situation…." she trailed off, leaning back down to work.

"Boss, I can't find Ducky's PDA." McGee almost whined.

"McGee it's a pad and a pencil." He told the Probie dryly.

"Oh." McGee mumbled as he grabbed those two things off the top of the desk. Abby carefully pulled out the letter from inside the envelope.

"Oh beautiful calligraphy." Ducky marveled as he opened the folded note. He was down in the lab with her since he wasn't contaminated and the letter was still inside the safety box.

"Beautiful paper." Abby added as the glanced over the letter through the glass.

"It must be 32lbs cotton rag." She muttered, examining the paper.

"Abby does that mean you can trace it?" Gibbs asked, his voice raising in frustration.

"The watermark will tell me where it was made, when it was made, and who sold it. The person that sent this may as well as signed it." Abby told him, while McGee took down notes.

"You know there was once a time when every young woman of breeding was taught calligraphy. My mother still tries but her hand shakes so that even I can't read all her missive." Ducky rambled. Gibbs sighed in irritation, they didn't know how much time they had.

"Can you read this missive, Ducky?" Gibbs asked calmly.

"Oh yes it's perfectly legible." Ducky answered, glancing at the screen. He began reading over it silently. Unseen by him Gibbs threw up his hands, that wasn't what he meant.

"Um I think he means read it out loud." Abby suggested to Ducky with an amused tone.

"Oh sorry of course." Ducky muttered.

" ** _If you are reading this and have not initiated biological attack procedures, I suggest you do so immediately. Since the powder dispersed by opening this envelope contains genetically altered…"_** Ducky stopped and stared down at the paper in slight shock. This worried Gibbs. Ducky glanced over at Abby before continuing.

 ** _"_** ** _Y-Pestis…."_** He told them. Abby looked back at Ducky, fear in her eyes. That's what Tony and Claire were exposed to?!

"Which is Latin for what?" Gibbs probed, watching the two's expressions. The two looked at each other for a moment longer before Ducky turned to look at Gibbs in the monitor.

"Plague." Ducky told him. Gibb's face paled.


	22. Chapter 22

[SWAK 2]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in autopsy Gibbs was tapping his hand against the pad of paper he was holding. Tony and Claire possibly had the plague. This was not good by any means; the plague killed. Gibbs paced around some more before speaking up again.

"The powder in that envelop carried Bubonic plague?" Gibbs asked as clarification.

"Pneumonic is more likely." Ducky corrected. Gibbs raised his arms up as if to say, 'like that's any better'.

"There's more than one?" Gibbs asked.

"Well there are three actually, but pneumonic is by far the most dangerous. Since it can be spread simply by breathing the y-pestis particles." Ducky explained. McGee looked up at the screen in worry, Tony and Claire breathed it in. Tony for sure anyway. Gibbs looked over at him and must have read his thoughts.

"Tony must have breathed in some of it." Gibbs muttered worriedly.

"It may not be alive." Abby countered, staying on the positive side.

"Y-pestis needs a host or moisture for it to survive more than a few hours." Abby told them.

"So it was eradicated when it went through the mail." Kate suggested.

"I got honey dust for Christmas McGee." Gibbs reminded him that it was possible that the mail screwed up. Cause obviously that package was not meant for him.

"I'll narrow my test to pneumonic y-pestis." Abby told them while walking over to her machine.

"If I can isolate the strength then Bethesda can hit it with a specific antibiotic." Abby assured as she adjusted the settings.

"Mmm, well that may not help. It says here **_'_** ** _I have genetically altered the y-pestis to render it impervious to antimicrobials'_**." Ducky read to them.

"That bitch, she created a strain that antibiotics can't whack." Abby muttered as she walked back over to look at the letter.

"Ducky give Bethesda a heads up." Gibbs ordered urgently.

"Right." Ducky agreed and headed to the phone in Abby's lab.

"The SWAK does not mean that this bitch couldn't be a bastard." Gibbs told Abby.

"You're so right Gibbs. I have this friend who's a transvestite, her lips could out SWAK Angelina Jolie's." Abby rattled on as she put on the gloves to pick up the letter inside the box. She turned to look at the monitor.

"Remember McGee, you met her at my birthday party." She added before getting back to work. McGee raised his hand and pointed a finger in remembrance.

"Yea the low cut red dress with the build in plastic…" McGee started, gesturing to his chest. Gibbs grew irritated and gave him the head slap to make him stop.

"I saw that Gibbs." Abby told him.

"Read…or you'll feel it." Gibbs threatened. Abby simply smiled over at him, not believing it one bit.

"Not while you're down there." She muttered sing-songly under her breath.

"What?!" Gibbs spat out.

 ** _"_** ** _However.."_** Abby just started to read the letter.

 ** _"_** ** _..there is an antidote.'_** She made a magic bullet." She explained to Gibbs once she read the sentence.

"Which if administered within 42 hours of infection, will eradicate the disease." Abby summarized for him.

" **_'_** ** _to procure the antidote, NCIS must make public the true results published in dossier R0377.'_** " Abby read off. Gibbs wrote the number down.

"McGee pull up the file." Gibbs told him, Tim immediately headed to the computers.

"Romeo 0377 on it boss." He assured.

"Anything else Abby?" Gibbs asked.

"That's all she wrote." Abby answered. McGee sat down at Ducky's computer and immediately got to work pulling up the old file. In the lab Abby took a flashlight and looked into the envelope to make sure they didn't miss anything. The inside was covered with a light metal coating.

"It's gilded inside, I can see the SWAK didn't…." she trailed off and shook her head.

"Uh oh." Abby muttered aloud so Gibbs and Kate could hear her. She took a pair of tweezers and pulled out a strip.

"We have a moisture strip in here." Abby announced.

"Yea keeping the bug alive until the letter is opened." Kate commented.

"I'm afraid so Kate." Abby agreed grimly.

"Check the cancellation stamp Abby. One way to get around postal radiation is to not use the post office." Gibbs told her. Abby studied the postal markings. The doors hissed as Ducky stepped back into the lab.

"I talked with a Dr. Brad Pitt." Ducky told them, walking to the monitor.

"You're kidding" Abby told him as she looked up.

"No that's his real name. He made a point to stress that he is not related in any way to the actor." Ducky told her seriously. Gibbs threw up his hands with an exasperated expression at the useless comment. The lives of his team were on the line and mindless conversation was a waste of time.

"Hey, did you hear about when Brad and Jen split up?" Abby asked Ducky.

"Abby!" Gibbs shouted in frustration.

"I'm sorry Gibbs I can't. Not until I get this under a microscope. And I can't do that until the NCID gives me approval to irradiate." Abby calmly explained to an irritated Gibbs.

"Ok which will be when?" Kate asked in a calmer tone.

"The navy is sending a sample to Atlanta it should be there….." Abby trialed off in thought. Ducky stuck out his arm so she could read the time on his wristwatch.

"…well now." Abby finished with a nod of her head.

"So it'll be 12 hours for a DNA confirmation." Abby continued looking at the monitor.

"Duck, what's the incubation period?" Gibbs asked urgently.

"About a day at most." Ducky answered.

"How long until it kills?" Gibbs immediately asked.

"Mmm not long I'm afraid. In the 14th century the novelist Vocapture wrote that the plague victims had supper with their friends and dinner with their ancestors in paradise." Ducky told him grimly. Gibbs ran his hand through his hair in distress. That didn't give them much time at all. He and Kate looked over to see McGee heading back over.

"McGee where's the file?" Gibbs asked with a throw of his hands.

"Boss I cannot access it…." McGee calmly started but Gibbs wouldn't hear it.

"Ducky we're coming up!" Gibbs practically screamed and stormed off. There was no way in hell he was going to sit around and wait for clearance when Tony and Claire could possibly be dying right this second.

"No we've already been through this you can't." Ducky tried but Gibbs was already gone.

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony was lying in his bed with his feet propped up on the end barrier. He was slowly snapping his fingers, killing the silence that had filled the room for a good few minutes now. The waiting was wearing heavily on my nerves.

"Know what this feels like?" he asked me. I was curled up in my own bed on the other end of the room. I sighed.

"I'm afraid to ask." I droned in disinterest and fiddled with my fingers.

"Like I'm the 'King of cool'." he answered. I scrunched up my face in confusion.

"Elvis?" I asked and looked over at him. He gave me a look.

"Elvis was the 'king of rock and roll'….Travolta is the 'king of cool'." Tony told me in a playfully annoyed voice.

"Of course how could I forget, well thanks for the clarification." I answered blankly, unfazed by his tone.

"And do you know why I feel like Travolta?" Tony continued in a playfully, trying to get me to continue in the conversation. I glanced over at him again but he was now looking at Nurse Emma on the other side of the glass, between the view of his feet, which were swaying back and forth childishly. I glared in their direction, an unknown pang rushing through me again. _What was so special about her?_

"I feel a movie coming on." I muttered sourly.

"The boy in the plastic bubble." Tony answered. I rolled her eyes, knowing that the long explanation was coming next.

"Travolta plays this boy with an immune deficiency, this is before aids, he lived in this giant plastic bubble." He told me, holding up his hands as if he was holding his own bubble. I turned to look at him.

"Tony. Tony pleaaaaaassseee. We're stuck here together." I whined pitifully. I was in no mood to listen to him ramble about movies for hours on end. Once he starts he cannot be stopped.

"Let's just make a pact, until we're out….. I won't make fun of all the stupid things you say…..and you won't tell me any more film scenarios. Deal?" I asked. Tony stared at me in thought for a moment.

"Deal" he agreed looking over at me with a grin.

"Thank you." I mumbled happily and rolled onto my back again. Tony scratched his chin in thought and a smug smile appeared on his face.

"Emma?" he asked and placed his hands behind his head.

"Yes?" she chimed back in amusement.

"You may find this of interest, you look pretty without the mask by the way…." Tony started. I rolled my eyes and growled in annoyance. He was relentless.

"Ralf Felomy plays the doctor. Now Ralph Felomy was this great old time actor, he was in this girls Friday with Carry Grant…" Tony rambled while I stuffed a pillow over her face. _Please just kill me now._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at NCIS.

"I cannot believe that Gibbs broke protocol." Ducky angrily muttered while running his hands through his hair. Abby heard the elevator ding and looked over worriedly. Once she saw Gibbs she smiled and let out a laugh.

"He didn't" she told Ducky.

"He left autopsy" Ducky reminded her, still looking at the empty autopsy room.

"But not isolation." She countered, holding back a giggle. Gibbs and McGee and Kate all waddled in wearing giant blue hazmat suits that made them look similar to Oompaloompas. It was obvious to see that they were all very uncomfortable in them. Gibbs stopped and grabbed McGee so he could face him.

"You use Abby's computer to access that case file." He shouted so McGee could hear him through the suits.

"On it." McGee nodded and made his way to her desk. McGee started typing but soon found that he couldn't because his fingers were in giant gloves. Looking around he picked up two pencils and slowly started typing in the information.

"Abby pull video surveillance from squad room. Everything from 2300 when I left until he came in this morning." He told her in a muffled voice.

"Kate you help her." Gibbs ordered turning back around to face Kate.

"You've gotta get a life Gibbs." Abby told him, referring to his late night at the office, and ran off to her computers.

"The last thing I need is another wife." Gibbs argued, his hearing distorted from the suit. Abby reached over and grabbed him by the arm.

"Life. You gotta get a life." She enunciated and patted his chest. Gibbs nodded in understanding. He hiked up the container in the back of his suit and walked over to McGee.

"Boss!" McGee shouted, turning to find Gibbs.

"Boss I found the file, it's a rape case." he shouted in the suit.

"Get the investigating agent down here." Gibbs told him. McGee glanced around before looking back at Gibbs.

"I…I can't. It was Pachi." McGee explained. Pachi was one of the agents that was killed a few months ago and Gibb's team investigated his case. Gibbs sighed and looked back at McGee.

"Put it up on the plasma McGee." Gibbs ordered and walked back out. McGee nodded and used the pencils to type in the instructions. Gibbs and Ducky stood side by side looking at the screen. The files came up along with a picture of the victim.

"Sarah Lowell. Age 21, senior ambassador. Rape February 10 at the Admiral's Motel, Annapolis." Gibbs read off.

"Well surely you remember the case Jethro. The maid found the poor girl naked, tied to the bed two days after she was raped." Ducky reminded his friend.

"Duck, contact Cassie Yates in Norfolk. Tell her what happened, I need her help." Gibbs told the doctor.

"Good idea." Ducky agreed and walked off.

"Gibbs I thought Cassie was working narcotics suppression?" Abby asked in confusion. Gibbs leaned around the computers to talk to her.

"Four years ago, Cassie was Pachi's probie." Gibbs explained. Abby nodded her head in understanding. Gibbs turned back to the screen and continued reading the file.

"The victim was visiting Annapolis to apply for advanced study at St. Johns. The police had the case for three days before they called us in." Gibbs muttered in confusion at the last sentence.

"They found a navy suspect." Kate chimed in.

"A dozen of them. Firsties partying at the hotel the night of the assault." Gibbs elaborated. Kate scrunched up her face in confusion.

"Firsties?" she asked.

"Academy senior, who just got their fleet assignments." Gibbs told her and then scrutinized the two of them.

"Are you scanning?" he asked pointing at her computer.

"Gibbs I can multitask. I can listen to you, I can scan the video, I can rub my tummy…" Abby told him but Gibbs just read over her.

"DNA testing cleared them so they closed the investigation." Gibbs told her.

"And someone wants it reopened." Abby concluded. Gibbs marched his way back into Abby's desk.

"McGee." Gibbs called and tapped him on the top of his suit to get his attention. The Probie turned around.

"Call Annapolis PD. I want their file on this case." Gibbs ordered. Ducky walked up to them, handing McGee the phone.

"I spoke to Cassie. She remembers the case, she'll be here in 15 minutes." Ducky informed Gibbs.

"From Norfolk?" Gibbs asked, wildly confused on how that was possible.

"No, Anacostia. She's working a drug sting." Ducky clarified. McGee started tapping Gibb's arm to get his attention.

"Boss I can't call, they're not going to be able to hear me." he explained gesturing to his attire. Gibbs grabbed him by the front of his suit and shook him a little, along with a stare. McGee's eyes widened in slight fear as he looked back.

"I'm gonna use the computer." he suggested instead. Gibbs seemed pleased and nodded his head before letting go.

"Gibbs!" Abby called from the other room. He waddled back over into her lab.

"Look who else doesn't have a life." Abby told him and gestured to the screen. She pulled up the video footage of the bullpen onto the big screen.

"Tony came back around midnight." She began, fast forwarding through the footage of Tony working at his desk.

"He does his best work at night." Gibbs told her with a grin. Abby smirked at the joke.

"So he tells us." She mused.

"Now there's Tony leaving…" the time was about 5am and it continued until the sun came up and someone else came in.

"…there's Ben the mail boy. He didn't do it." Abby told him. Gibbs gave her a look.

"Why not?" he asked. Abby paused the tape and looked back at Gibbs with a blank stare.

"He's a vegan Gibbs." She told him as if it was obvious.

"Hitler was a vegan." He countered.

"Hitler was a vegetarian, big difference." She argued back and played the feed again.

"Vegans are so against cruelty that they won't even use cosmetics tested on animals." Abby explained to Gibbs. During this conversation Ducky was over to the side looking at the letter inside the containment box, when something stuck out to him.

"Abigail." He quietly got their attention.

"Could y-pestis be altered to withstand irradiation?" Ducky asked. Gibbs and Abby walked over to stand next to him.

"No, no way. Altered or not it's still a living organism." She told Ducky with certainty. Ducky stepped aside as Abby put her hands back into the gloves attached to the box.

"Could the gilding in the envelope protect it?" Gibbs asked her.

"No, I mean it would have to be at least 10 mills thick. I mean this is barely one." She told them. Abby used a flashlight to better examine the inside of the envelope.

"Uh oh…" she muttered. On one side of the lining another SWAK was on the inside, just across from the one on the outside. She froze in thought. Gibbs was watching her with fearful eyes.

"Abby I do not want to hear any more uh ohs." He told her.

"Sorry, but this SWAK didn't bleed through. There's another one inside." She told him worriedly.

"Get that letter out here where you can examine it." He told her sternly. Abby shot him an exasperated look.

"Gibbs I told you I have to wait for Atlanta to…"

"Any doubts that its pneumonic plague?" he asked, cutting her off.

"Well no but…"

"Then no buts ok?...we're losing time." Gibbs reminded her. The hint of fear and worry started to show through in his voice. The two agents in Bethesda were like his family. Even though he didn't show them that in a normal manner, it didn't make it any less true.

"Kill those bugs….now" He told her, jabbing a finger at the letter. Abby looked over at Ducky in silent questioning. She wasn't quite sure what to do. On the one hand, Tony and Claire were in danger of dying…on the other hand she needed to wait so she could safely continue the procedure.

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony had quickly gotten bored and was now sitting up on his knees staring intently at the blue lights above his bed.

"Think they really zap bugs?" he asked me, memorized by the lights above him. I was lying on my side, facing away from him, with a frightened expression on my face. All these morbid thoughts kept running through my mind due to my lack of activity.

"What?" I asked quietly, snapping out of my thoughts.

"These blue lights." Tony explained. I sighed heavily.

"Are you serious?" I asked him tired annoyance. Tony sat back on his heels.

"Ever heard of a placebo Claire?" he asked pointedly. I turned my head to look at him before sitting up and fully turning towards him.

"Tony, placebos are administered for a psychological effect." I explained tiredly.

"Precisely. How do we know these lamps aren't just here to make us think that they're helping." He told me, raising a finger up dramatically like he had just uncovered a secret.

"Hmm?.." he hummed looking over at me questioningly.

"Maybe they're there to kill whatever bugs we breathe into the air." I suggested sarcastically before flopping back down.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Tony lounged on his side, his feet facing the top of the bed. He was staring over at Claire with a thoughtful expression.

"You may have a point." He agreed. Claire's eyes slightly widened and she sat up to look at him. Tony had never willingly admitted that she was right.

"You're afraid, aren't you?" she gently asked, seeing through his facade. Tony scoffed but didn't make eye contact. She had always been able to read him easily.

"Claire come on, me afraid? Have you ever seen me afraid?" he asked her, shaking off the idea.

"Tony…" she tried to get him back on track, as he was avoiding the question but Tony quickly diverted to another topic.

"This coming from the girl who would sneak into my dorm room to stay the night with me because she was too scared to stay by herself, after watching a scary movie." He reminded with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at his avoidance of the question, but couldn't help but smile at the memories.

 ** _Flashback:_**

 _A nervous Claire walks down the sidewalk of the college campus. She shivered a little as she was still wearing her tank top and shorts that she slept in. She constantly glanced around as if something or someone was chasing after her. The girl had just finished watching a horror movie alone in her dorm room and just couldn't get to sleep. On top of that her roommate was gone for the week and she felt scared to be alone; much to her dismay since that was kind of a childish thing to do. She knew the movie was fake but still…..it was scary. Claire made sure no one was watching as she sprinted over towards the Frat houses on the far end of the street and headed straight for the one she had frequented so often. Tony's building. With another glance around to make sure she wasn't followed, she walked around to the back of the house. On the far left was a window she knew led to his room. Now comes the hard part…how was she supposed to get up there? Looking around she noticed the large tree next to the house; one of the branches reached over close to the window. With a determined huff she started climbing it. She prayed that no one was watching as she was still in somewhat skimpy clothing and contorting her body to climb the tree this late at night would surely give anyone around a nice view. Finally, she reached the branch that would lead up to his window and carefully edged herself over to it, careful not to lose her grip and plummet to the ground. Once she reached the window she pulled up on it. It didn't budge. She whined in dismay when she learned that the window was locked. Claire reached back for her phone in her pocket only to be reminded that she didn't have pockets and had left it back on her nightstand. Reluctantly she knocked on the window. Hopefully Tony wasn't in that state where he could sleep through anything. He stayed up really late anyway, like any other college student. Nothing happened. She sighed again and knocked a little louder. This time she heard a groan from inside followed by some stumbling. Claire held in a giggle as she imagined a sleepy Tony stumbling over the junk left on his floor. After a few moments the curtains were pulled back to reveal Tony in all his drowsy glory. Hair tousled, face slack, and eyes clouded with sleep. When he saw her at the window he rubbed his eyes, thinking that he was dreaming. Looking out again his eyes widened in surprise. She sent him a sheepish wave as he opened the window. Claire immediately crawled inside, glad to be off the branch._

 _"_ _Claire….what are you doing here?" Tony asked in slight alarm. Maybe something was wrong. Was she hurt? In trouble? Claire bit her lip and looked down in slight embarrassment._

 _"_ _I couldn't sleep." She told him, avoiding the truth. Tony was confused._

 _"_ _So you decided to take a long walk all the way to my house. Then climbed a tree next to my window, 2 stories high and wake me up from a great dream…all because you couldn't sleep?..." he trailed off, trying to understand the reasoning behind her actions. Claire tilted her head back and forth as if to say 'pretty much'. Tony rose a brow at her. He didn't buy it. She sighed, knowing she was gonna have to fess up._

 _"_ _I got scared ok. I watched this horror film and my roommate is gone so the scary murderer chasing college students freaked me out. I couldn't stay there alone." She reluctantly told him. Tony stifled a chuckle. He shouldn't laugh at her fear, but quite frankly it was kinda funny. She glared and childishly whined at him._

 _"_ _Tony….don't make fun of me." She told him with a pout. Tony's laugh died off as he looked into those wide blue eyes that made him melt. He had a massive crush on his best friend and that face would make him do anything._

 _"_ _Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked him seriously. Tony's imagination went wild and he sent her an alluring smirk._

 _"_ _I told you that you would be asking me for that someday." He told her. Claire scowled to counteract the massive blush that was breaking out across her face. Thankfully it was still dark in the room so he didn't see it. She would have never lived that down._

 _"_ _That's not what I meant and you know it." She scolded. Tony laughed again and gestured for her to follow him over to his bed. She complied. Tony crawled in first and shifted over as she got in after him. He pulled her into his arms, letting her snuggle into his side. Claire smiled as she felt him wrap a protective arm around her, giving her the comfort and security she needed._

 _"_ _Don't worry Claire, I won't let the big bad monsters get you." He told her mockingly. She smacked his chest, which she was now registering was bare, making her cheeks flare up again._

 _"_ _Shut up Tony and go to sleep." She scolded. She felt his chest vibrate under her head and started to drift off. The exhaustion from being scared and her adventure in getting to his room tired her out._

 _"_ _Night Claire." He mumbled, setting his chin on her head. He heard her mumble out an incoherent response and smiled as he drifted off to sleep._

"That was one time." she played off his comment. Tony smiled and shook his head.

"5 times. You would think that after the first one you would know better." He countered. The two of them laughed. Claire sighed and was brought back the reality of the situation.

"Well I've never seen you afraid when the danger is something we can confront." She told him honestly. She had truly never really seen Tony afraid of anything, yet she just knew that he was now. He had no control over the situation and that was frightening for him. Heck it was frightening for her too. Tony sat up again and hung his feet over the side of the bed, noticing that Claire had gotten a far off look on her face.

"All we can do here is….is lie around and hope that we're not infected." She mused absently. Tony's face dropped into a worried expression. He knew that she was just as scared as he was.

"Now who's afraid?" he poorly joked. She looked over at him unamused.

"Anyone with half a brain would be." Claire smiled and let out a laugh before adding to her comment.

"I take it back Tony, you're not afraid." She tried joking back. However, Tony didn't smile. He was too focused on making her less afraid. He was always the one that would be there for her to make her fears go away. Now that he couldn't do anything about it, he was upset with himself. He sighed and wiped some sweat from his forehead. Was it getting hotter in there? Now that she had shut herself off again he was left to think about the worst. To him it was if she ended up dying from whatever this was, and he wouldn't be able to stop it. After all he was the one that opened the letter in the first place. Despite what anyone told him, he was sure that it was his fault they were in this position.

At the station outside the room, Dr. Pitt came over and shut off the speaker so the agents inside couldn't hear him. He sighed and turned to nurse Emma.

"All the blood counts just came back negative….except for special agent DiNozzo's." he told her sadly. The two of them stared over at the brooding man.

"He's infected with y-pestis." The two looked over at the man sitting and staring worriedly at his partner in the isolation unit. Unaware of the danger that was raging through his body at that very moment.

Down in the lab the letter and the envelope were directly under a set of blue lights, similar to those that were in isolation at Bethesda.

"Dammit Abby how much longer?" Gibbs ranted as he paced around the lab.

"Gibbs, patience is not your virtue is it?" Abby commented, a little surprised by his tone. Gibbs walked up behind her to look at her computer screen.

"Look at the plasma." Abby pointed to the TV so he could understand through his giant suit. Gibbs walked over while Abby focused the microscope.

"Moldy bread." Gibbs guessed as he looked at the colored cell.

"It's a y-pestis microbe from the powder in the letter." She corrected with a smile. Abby rolled over and pulled up a similar picture.

"This is the y-pestis the human race has known for half a millennium. This is the strain that you can fight with antibiotics." The told Gibbs. The man turned back to look at her.

"The one from the letter has blue tips." He told her, as if she hadn't already noticed. She nodded her head.

"That's because it has been genetically altered to resist antibiotics." She explained.

"You catch that then you're stuck in the dark ages. Which personally I wouldn't mind until….it killed me." Abby stated, trailing off at the last thought. Gibbs turned back towards the screen.

"This couldn't be whipped up at your local meth house." He commented.

"No, this had to be made at a hot molecular biologist and big buck bio lab to make this bioweapon." Abby confirmed. Suddenly one of her machines started rapidly beeping.

"Oh my baby's calling. I ran a mas-spec on the SWAK." She told him as she rolled across the room. Gibbs followed behind her.

"Are you analyzing lipstick instead of the letter?" Gibbs asked her while watching her push on the buttons.

"Well I figured that anyone who practiced calligraphy has got to wear aspheric lipstick. And since all lipsticks are tested by the FDA…."

"Then you can identify the brand." Gibbs finished for her, catching her train of thought. Abby rolled back over to her computers.

"Yea, and if it's as rare as I think it is, I can find out who sold it." She told him while typing away on her computers.

"Oh yea that's good thinking Abbs," he mumbled.

"What?!" Abby shouted playfully. She had heard him the first time.

"Good thinking Abby!" he shouted at her.

"I don't know Gibbs I can't hear you it must be the…" the rest of her sentence was drowned out by Gibb's irritated shouting. In frustration, he signed angrily at her.

"That's not nice Gibbs, not nice." Abby muttered while signing back to him. Gibbs signed again in a frustrated fashion while glaring. Abby ignored it and stared up at the screen.

"This is weird. All the basics are there, the wax, oil, eesinthide, titanium theroxide….. but at such low levels that….." she trailed off again as an alert came up on her computer. One of the substances was skyrocketing in unhealthy levels.

"Whoa." She muttered.

"What is that?" Gibbs asked.

"The reason the y-pestis survived postal irradiation. 72% of the lipstick is pure lead." She told him. Abby stood up and grabbed Gibbs to turn him around to face her.

"A lead SWAK on the outside of the envelope. A lead SWAK on the inside." Abby started her explanation, using hand gestures as illustration.

"In between, y-pestis on a moisture pad. This is one smart bitch." Abby told him.

"Wash your mouth out with purple soap." A new voice chimed in behind them. Gibbs and Abby turned to face Cassie, who was smiling over at them.

"Cassie, wow. Are you uh…suppressing drugs or selling them?" Abby asked walking over to her and taking in her sexy outfit.

"I'm undercover. Everything I'm wearing is confiscated, even the underwear." Cassie told her, holding her hand up as a promise.

"Nice." Abby commented approvingly.

"Gibbs! Is that you playing Telly Tubby?" Cassie asked the older agent. Gibbs smiled at her. Cassie walked over to the box where the letter was sitting.

"Is this the anthrax letter?" She asked Abby.

"It's not anthrax, its plague." Abby corrected.

"Thank god, anthrax scares the hell out of me. May I?" she asked, gesturing to the box. Abby nodded in approval. Cassie put her hands into the gloves and looked at the letter.

"I know this return address." She told them.

"Backtracked it to the Annapolis bay motel, where the girl was raped." Gibbs explained. Cassie nodded.

"Gibbs" Ducky called.

"All the blood tests came back negative, except for…"

"Tony" Gibbs finished with a hard look. Ducky nodded in confirmation.

"Dammit!" Gibbs growled and violently tore off his hazmat suit.

"Is he sick yet?" Gibbs asked Ducky intently.

"Not outwardly, but his body temperature is rising. The y-pestis is attacking his pulmonary system." Ducky told Gibbs with a sigh.

"Hi Cassie." Ducky greeted the newcomer.

"Hi Ducky, how far are we into this 32 hr. window?" she asked them.

"Too far. Tony will begin coughing soon. When he fluid becomes bloody he'll only have a few hours to live." Ducky elaborated as Gibbs fumed. Now one of his team was dying at a rapid pace. Whoever did this was going to have hell to pay.

"Abby get that damn letter out of there" Gibbs ordered.

"Getting it." Abby nodded and immediately set to work. Cassie swallowed and slowly followed after Gibbs into the office.

"This is too easy Gibbs. Custom paper and calligraphy that's traceable. A bio attack." She told him as she helped him out of his suit.

"Do you know who sent this?" Gibbs asked her.

"No, but I know who they want us to think sent it." Cassie told him.

 **Claire's POV:**

Dr. Pitt and Nurse Emma were over tending to Tony. I guess it was standard to start an IV or something while we still don't know what's going on.

"Bedtime snack Brad?" he casually asked as the doctor put an IV into his arm.

"Mmm, the IV drip enhances epicasy of the Streptomiosin." Brad carefully told him.

"Did they teach ya epicasy at Harvard Medical?" Tony asked jokingly, making Emma laugh. I rolled my eyes at him. Tony shot a proud smile over at her.

"Michigan." Brad corrected. Tony's face scrunched up in confusion.

"It can't be….it's too weird." he muttered as he glanced at the doctor. _What was he going on about?_

"What are you wolverine too?" Dr. Pitt joked as he continued fixing the IV drip. I smirked in amusement.

"Buckeye." Tony corrected with a slight glare. _Why is he bringing up what college we went to?_ Brad looked down at him curiously.

"Wait, you're that DiNozzo?" Dr. Pitt asked in shock. Tony smirked up at him.

" '92 Columbus?" Brad asked.

"We kissed our sisters." Tony continued. Dr. Pitt scoffed in amazement. I really had no idea what they were babbling about. It had to be frat talk or something.

"13-13 tight you broke your leg in the 4th quarter." Brad marveled in memory. Nurse Emma was now tending to me as I was trying to keep up with the boys.

"You broke my leg in the 4th quarter." Tony accused jokingly. Tony looked over and smirked at me.

"And she's the one that decked you that night." He told Brad nodding his head in my direction.

"That was you?!" I asked in alarm once I got it. I knew he was familiar….well this was embarrassing.

"Yea, you have a mean right cross." Brad joked. Tony chuckled at my mortified expression. After Brad had broken Tony's leg in the game I went out and punched the dude in the face.

 _ **Flashback:**_

 _Some friends and I were up in the stands watching the Michigan vs. Ohio State basketball game. Tony was part of the starters and so I came to watch him play. He was actually quite good. We were down to the last quarter of the game and it was all tied up. Stephen passed the ball into Tony, who started taking the ball up the court. Looking for an open player he passed it off to one of the guards. Once the ball left his hand he darted up the center and popped out for the open three. As his teammate went to pass him the ball I saw one of the Michigan players charging towards him. This couldn't end well. Tony had to jump a little to get the ball, when he did the opposing player leapt at him. They landed at the same time but the guy landed on Tony's leg making him fall. The second I heard him cry out I knew something was really wrong. I started making my way down towards the court. The referee called a foul but Tony didn't get up. He was still writhing on the floor. The trainers and coached immediately went out to check on him. I glanced over at the smug bastard that had caused the incident and glared. He didn't even look ashamed. After a couple minutes of the people talking with Tony to figure out the problem, they went ahead and carried him off the court. As I got closer I could see the obvious pain on his face. Picking up my speed I kept heading towards the court, or more importantly the locker room where they had taken Tony. The game continued but I wasn't paying attention. I finally rushed over towards the locker room but was stopped by one of the security guards._

 _"_ _Sorry you're not allowed in there." He told me and blocked my path._

 _"_ _Of course I am." I told him matter of factly. There was no way I wasn't going in there. I tried to move again and he stepped in front of me._

 _"_ _Ma'am.."_

 _"_ _I'm his fiancé." I quickly spat out. I know usually only family was allowed in for these situations and so I figured this was good enough. The man eyed me suspiciously before stepping aside and letting me in. I made my way around the lockers and headed back towards the table where Tony was lying. I heard him groan in pain as I approached the table. He had some ice on his leg to ease the pain. I walked over to his side and started smoothing down his hair, trying to give some source of comfort._

 _"_ _You ok?" I gently asked, glancing around for any other injured._

 _"_ _Yea, I'm just peachy." He muttered out sarcastically. I rolled my eyes and grabbed his hand, which he gripped back instantly. I glanced up at the medic that was there with us._

 _"_ _So what's the prognosis?" I asked. The man crossed his arms before letting out a sigh._

 _"_ _Well from what we can tell, it's definitely broken. How badly will have to be determined once we get some x-rays. The ambulance will be here to pick him up in a few minutes." I sighed heavily and looked down at Tony who gave me a sheepish grin. I waited with him until the ambulance came and the game had ended. He was being rolled out on a gurney when the crowd had for the most part dispersed and the players were filing out of the building. Walking beside Tony I laughed at a joke he was making before I caught sight of the guy who put Tony here. I glared at the boy before excusing myself. This dude, I don't remember his name….it was like something Pitt…..anyway he was walking off with a couple of his buddies when I came over. His back was facing me as I marched towards him._

 _"_ _Hey!" I shouted at him. He turned around and just as he did I swung my fist at his face. The guy dropped in shock and looked up at me, holding his nose in pain._

 _"_ _That's for breaking his leg jackass." I told him and stormed off, leaving the boys speechless. As I walked back towards the ambulance Tony was laughing so hard, he had tears in his eyes._

 _"_ _That's my girl." He applauded me through his laughing fit. I chuckled along with him. We both had kinda brushed off the fact that he called me 'his girl'. I don't even think he noticed. With another wave of laughter, he was set into the back of the van. I rolled my eyes and hopped in after him._

"Sorry about that." I apologized sheepishly _. This was so awkward._ The two of them just laughed it off before talking about some other stuff. I rolled my eyes in amusement as the boys reminisced about the game.

"I bet they'll be bonging beers next." I joked with Nurse Emma. She had a sad look in her eye.

"I don't think so." She quietly told me.

"Oh no, you don't know Tony. He epitomizes sophomoric." I told her with a laugh. Nurse Emma looked down before making eye contact with me again.

"His blood test came back positive." She gently whispered. My smile dropped right along with my heart. I looked back over at the two boys who were still carrying on.

"Positive?" I asked again, in disbelief. This couldn't be happening.

"You're ok, he's the only one infected." Emma assured and glanced back at Tony. That was the last thing I cared about at the moment. I would rather it be me that had the plague than Tony. Anything but that. I looked over tearfully at the man who had this horrific condition. There had to be something I could do to help.

 **Tony's POV:**

"Didn't you feel like an old man at spring break?" Brad asked me jokingly. I laughed along with him as we continued the conversation.

"Are you kidding? Coeds love a man who can bong a beer in 6 seconds." I told him, Brad laughing along with me.

"Well that leaves me out." he chuckled. My smiled dropped after a few moments. I looked over at the IV attached to me and sobered. I wasn't stupid, something was up.

"So tell me doc, what have I got?" I asked the man seriously. Dr. Pitt sighed.

"Pneumonic plague." He told me with no hint of joking this time. My mind went blank. All I could seem to do was stare up at him, my eyebrows rising slowly in shock.

"Plague?" I asked dumbly. The man nodded sympathetically. I let out a humorless chuckle. Of all the things I could get.

"Plague." I muttered again, just taking it all in.

"Yea Tony, plague! Because you would go off and get a disease from the dark ages." Claire suddenly shouted, making her way over towards my bed. _What was wrong with her?_

"I didn't know there was plague in the letter." I protested confusedly. Why was she getting worked up about this, that's not the typical reaction when someone could be dying.

"You opened it!" She shouted again. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the other two looked at each other curiously.

"So I opened it, what are you so upset about? It's not like you're lying….." I began, feeling offended by her attitude, but suddenly stopped as I realized something. _Oh no._ This shattered me even more. This couldn't be happening. Claire didn't say anything but put her hands on her hips in frustration, an unknown emotion behind her eyes. It looked like she was trying not to cry. I looked at her and swallowed thickly.

"Yea that's right Travolta, I'm infected too." She told me seriously. I could feel the pain coming in heavily now. She just confirmed my fear. _This can't be happening; I didn't want to put her through this. It's all my fault, if I hadn't have opened that stupid letter she wouldn't be in here with an ancient disease that frankly scares the heck out of me. There had to be something I could do to help._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Claire subtly made eye contact with the doctor, who simply looked at her curiously. She was going to keep pretending she was sick so she could stick with him.

"Oh Claire I'm sorry." Tony whispered brokenly. This was hitting him harder than when found out he had it.

"Well, you'll be sorrier." She warned. Tony's eyes widened.

"No…don't tell me Gibbs got it." He asked in shock. That would be terrible and terrifying at the same time.

"No, no, just us. But I am going to make your life hell." She told him spitefully. Tony paused for a moment before playing along. If she was going into defense mode and playing it off like they normally would then he would too. He was going to help make it a little better. However, Claire was doing the same thing. She was making it better by taking a page out of his book and not confronting the problem directly. She was determined to help for as long as she could.

"How? You can't be worse that plague." Tony quipped. Claire gave him a look.

"Ok maybe you can." He admitted. This was true, she knew all the right buttons to push.

"Maybe she can." He told the Doctor jokingly.

"I'm warning you DiNozzo." Claire told him.

"You know I recall a couple of plague flicks…" Tony started, threatening to break the truce they made.

"I'm gonna tell Emma all of your dating tricks." She threatened back. Tony was unfazed.

"Hmmm _Flesh and Blood_ comes to mind, Paul directed. Rutger Howard starred." Tony began while staring her down. The medical professionals in the room watched as the two carried on. It was clear that they meant a great deal to one another.

"Tony thinks speaking Italian turns women on." Claire told Emma. She would never admit it but him speaking Italian was kind hot. She had seen him do it numerous times. Tony shot up and glared at her.

"Obviously, you've never seen Jamie lee Curtis in _A fish called Wanda_." He spat at Claire in defense.

"Claire." Brad cut in, worried about her health and the plan she was hatching.

"I know, I'm going to start my IV." She cut him off with a look. Claire turned and let out a sneeze.

"If I catch your cold I'm going to be very pissed." Tony warned. She glared at him and walked back over to her side. Once she was out of earshot Tony turned to look at the doctor with worry written all over his face.

"She's going to be ok right?" he fearfully asked. Tony couldn't live with himself if anything happened to her. Brad didn't say anything but looked at him curiously. Tony always came off as a player but when it came to Claire it was like all of his defenses went down and made him vulnerable. The thing was that Tony didn't care if she did that to him. All he cared about was her wellbeing. 'Knowing' that she had the plague was the important thing now, he didn't even care that he had it too.


	23. Chapter 23

[SWAK 3]

 **3** **rd** **Person's POV:**

Back at NCIS Gibbs walked into Abby's work station and tapped McGee on the head since he was still in his suit.

"Hey McGee, Special Agent Cassie Yates needs your computer." He explained. McGee turned around and beamed at the newcomer.

"Cassie!" he greeted and got out of the chair.

"Hey McGee mind if I sit in?" she greeted and sat at the computer, taking over where he left off.

"Yea sure. Boss Cassie and I had parking spaces next to each other at Norfolk." McGee informed while shouting through his hazmat suit. At this moment Kate walked in with her suit still on too.

"Why are you yelling at me?" Gibbs asked while glancing at McGee curiously.

"So you can hear me through your…." McGee was about to say helmet but realized that Gibbs wasn't wearing his suit anymore. He gave Gibbs a questioning look.

"Gibbs, where's your suit?" Kate asked in a scolding tone.

"The blood tests were negative." Gibbs informed. McGee sighed in relief and quickly took off his own suit.

"Sweet." He murmured happily. Kate chuckled in agreement.

"Not for DiNozzo." Gibbs muttered, effectively breaking the news to them. The two agents looked at their boss in shock.

"Positive?" Kate asked in disbelief.

"Is he gonna be ok?" McGee asked, worry taking over his features.

"If he isn't, he's going to be answering to me." Gibbs replied, not looking away from the computer Cassie was working on. She was downloading the information from the case they were pulling back up.

"Um Cassie I already downloaded the report from the rape investigation." McGee told her when he noticed what she was working on.

"Not necessarily, you didn't have my training file. I was just a Probie but Pachi had me interview Sarah." She explained.

"Well yea, you're a female about the same age. It's easier to talk to you than a male agent." Gibbs explained.

"Didn't help, she couldn't remember a thing." Cassie told him.

"Traumatic amnesia. Not uncommon for these cases." Kate explained.

"If she had amnesia then who accused the midshipmen?" Gibbs asked.

"Her mother, recognize her?" Cassie asked as she pulled up her picture.

"Vaguely familiar." Ducky murmured as he joined the team.

"How about in this photo?" Cassie asked. She then pulled up a picture of the same woman back in the 70's where she was in front of the Washington monument, shirtless and peace signs painted on her bare breasts.

"Good god yes. That picture was on the front page of every newspaper in the world. She was more famous than Hemorrhoid Jane." Ducky explained to them. Gibbs squinted at the photo.

"Blow that up." He told Cassie.

"Get closer on the headband." Gibbs instructed. Cassie zoomed in the picture. On the headband beside the wording was a familiar kiss mark.

"Oh my god that's a SWAK." Cassie muttered in realization.

"She a microbiologist?" Gibbs asked, his brain running into overdrive.

"Nope but the best in the world work for her." Cassie muttered and pulled up the information of her business.

"Hannah is CEO of Lowell Pharmaceuticals." Cassie informed Gibbs.

"McGee I want a search warrant." He ordered.

"On It boss." McGee muttered and rushed out.

"Grab a change of clothes and meet us downstairs in 5." Gibbs told Kate before turning to Ducky and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Go to Bethesda, keep me updated on Tony's condition." Gibbs asked urgently, knowing Ducky would keep it honest and in perspective as a doctor.

"Of course." Ducky assured.

"Find out why Claire hasn't checked in." Gibbs added as he headed towards the door. Just then Palmer walked in with a guard who had all of their personal affects.

"I…I got the phones but they wouldn't trust me with the weapons." Jimmy told Gibbs, giving the guard a glare. Gibbs signed for the items.

"I wouldn't either Jimmy." He commented in as he quickly gathered up his stuff and marched out of autopsy.

 **Claire's POV:**

Dr. Pitt had finished hooking me up to the IV per my request and took the time to talk to me. More like scold me.

"Why are you doing this Claire?" he asked sternly. I glanced over at Tony. _Why exactly was I doing this_? I didn't have an exact answer; it was more like a deep feeling.

"Damn if I know. But I'm doing it and you're not going to tell Tony." I told him pointedly. There was no way he was going to ruin this.

"Well I've already informed Dr. Mallard that you're not infected." He told me.

"Ducky will understand." I assured. He would see my reasoning. But then I remembered something and winced in thought.

"Gibbs will be the problem." I added. Once he found out, I was so dead.

"No, the problem is that Tony could infect you." He corrected. Brad gave me a warning look, clearly upset by the situation. I was about to argue but was brought out of my thoughts when I heard Tony coughing over on the other side of the room. I was doing this for him.

"What with all the UV lights and airscubbers? I know those aren't for patient morale." I argued back, crossing my arms for emphasis.

"I can't let you stay." He countered seriously.

"This strain has been genetically altered to withstand antibiotics." He whispered imploringly this time, his tone changing from stern to worry.

"Do you realize what that means?" he asked. That means that Tony doesn't have a chance unless he gets the specific antidote. Or if there wasn't one then he would have to let his body try and overcome it. I scoffed and looked over at Tony trying to push down the emotion I had building up in me. I knew how well letting the plague run its course turned out for those in the dark ages. His chances were slim to none.

"That the IV in Tony's arm is useless. So, why do it?" I asked him, masking my fear.

"Because it can't hurt. And it gives him…" he trailed off.

"Hope." I finished . Suddenly a voice brought us out of the conversation.

"Hey Claire did you tell Dr. Brad about the wet t-shirt contest you won?" Tony taunted from the other side of the room. I swallowed thickly as she heard the rasp in his voice. Then I processed what he said I laughed sarcastically.

"Did you tell Emma about the transsexual you tounged?" I jeered back. I can't let him know that I'm scared for him. He'll know somethings up. Tony's expression immediately dropped and he looked up at the nurse.

"That never happened…..that never…" he denied but stopped when he turned his head and let out a string of violent coughs. I thickly swallowed at the sound of it. It was obvious that he wasn't getting better. The disease was setting in hard now. Nurse Emma gently wiped at the corner of his mouth and my heart stopped at the sight of blood on it. However, Tony didn't see it since he immediately turned to face me.

"Thanks for passing along the cold Claire." He told me sarcastically. I didn't respond but watched as he took in labored breaths. I looked back up at Brad with wavering eyes. I was doing this for Tony, I had to be here for him no matter what. Brad sighed and didn't say anything else on the matter. I didn't care if I caught the plague, anything was worth it for Tony. I couldn't leave him to deal with this alone.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV** :

Gibbs, Kate and Cassie walked up to the pharmaceutical company owned by Hannah Lowell.

"How do you wanna handle this?" Kate asked as they reached the big glass doors.

"The subtle approach. You serve the warrant…..I'll shove my sig in her face." Gibbs told her seriously as he opened the door for the two of them.

"Gibbs, Hannah Lowell has been a part or more protests than Jessie Jackson, she won't be intimidated." Cassie scolded. The three casually made their way across the giant lobby as they discussed their plan.

"Ok then I'll shoot her and go after whoever made the damn bug for her." Gibbs amended.

"You're not going to kill her." Cassie told him.

"I said shoot, not kill." Gibbs corrected.

"There are dozens of microbiologists here, it could take days to interrogate. Tony doesn't have days." Kate reminded him quietly. The passed by the receptionists who eyed them suspiciously.

"Do you know where her office is or should I ask the receptionist?" Gibbs asked her, fed up by the stalling.

"She always has the top floor office." Cassie told him and began leading the way. The receptionist made eye contact with one of the security guards and gestured towards the three agents. The man jumped up and made his way after them.

"Excuse me, excuse me. You have to check in with the receptionist, do you have an appointment?" the man asked walking up to them. Cassie flashed her badge.

"No, we have a federal warrant." Gibbs told him, and the three walked into the elevator. The agents reached their floor and marched their way into her office area. The secretary hopped up and opened the doors for them into Mrs. Lowell's office.

"It's about time you got here. I left enough cookie crumbs." The woman casually greeted the agents.

"You left more than cookie crumbs lady." Kate glared at her.

"I regret I resorted to such a dramatic act. But you people at NCIS left me no choice when you lied to protect the academy." She told them, not intimidated by their demeanor.

"Now you admit that a midshipman raped my daughter and this will all be cleared." She told him. Gibbs didn't answer and glanced around at all her protest pictures hanging up on the wall.

"The DNA test shows…" Cassie started but she was cut off.

"Oh I know how easy it is to dope a DNA test." Mrs. Lowell countered and turned her attention back to Gibbs.

"You love dramatic acts." Gibbs mused.

"They can be very affective." She agreed coldly.

"The effect of this one is going to imprison you for life." He assured without looking at her. Mrs. Lowell smiled knowingly.

"That long.." she mused. Gibbs jerked he head around and stared at her.

"You're dying." He realized and took a few more steps towards her.

"Rather rapidly, which makes incarceration highly unlikely." She told him with a sad look.

"From the looks of it you want to protect every living thing on the planet except for federal agents." He told her bitterly, glancing at more of her photos.

"My daughter never recovered from the horror of that weekend. The truth will help her heal. Please, please give it to her." the woman begged as best she could without looking weak. Gibbs just stared at her.

"You won't get that antidote until that midshipmen comes…."

"We don't need it." Gibbs cut her off. The woman looked up at him surprised. Kate and Cassie shared a look of confusion.

"The post office went postal on your letter. It zapped the bugs right through the lead SWAK. No one was infected." Gibbs lied and walked over with a pair of handcuffs.

"Oh I don't believe you." She scoffed. Gibbs harshly jerked her out of her seat and started to cuff her.

"I don't give a damn whether you believe me or not. You are under arrest for biological attack on a federal agency." Gibbs told her.

"Take her interrogation, I'll wait here for the task force to arrest the others. "Gibbs told Cassie. Mrs. Lowell's eyes widened dramatically as she watched Gibbs sit down at her computer. Cassie began listing off her rights and started walking her away.

"There are no others!" Mrs. Lowell quickly told them.

"I acted alone."

"You are not a microbiologist." Kate countered.

"I stole the y-pestis!" she shouted at them. Gibbs ignored her and continued rooting through her desk.

"Dr. Pandey doesn't even know its missing." She told him. This got Gibb's attention and he practically leapt out of the chair and stormed out of the office.

"Dr. Pandey. Where's Dr. Pandey's lab?" Gibbs asked the secretary. The secretary quickly looked it up.

"North wing, ground floor, Via Alpha." She listed off. Gibbs ran off before she could tell him about being authorized.

"Someone was infected." Mrs. Lowell snidely remarked, taking notice of his frantic actions. Cassie and Kate glared at her and led her away.

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony leaned forward as he continued coughing violently.

"Lay back Tony." Dr. Pitt gently ordered. I was off to the side of his bed with a mask on; deciding that I didn't want to stay a whole room away from him. Tony was too sick to notice anyway. Brad put an x-ray tray behind his back and laid Tony on top of it. I swallowed thickly as he continued his couching fit.

"Everybody behind the shield." The doctor ordered. I stayed for a moment, waiting until the last possible second before I left him.

"Tony I'm gonna need you to take a deep breath and hold it." Dr. Pitt told him as Emma finished up the x-ray panels on top of his chest. I watched them curiously as I stood next to him, trying to keep my emotions at bay.

"I don't think I can Brad." Tony muttered. You could hear the sincerity and the fear in his voice. He started coughing again and grabbed my hand, latching onto it like a lifeline. I shot my eyes over in his direction but he wasn't looking at me. Tony didn't want to look weak in front of the others, but the desperation of his grip told me otherwise. He was terrified. I said nothing but gripped his hand back in reassurance.

"Maybe Emma could do it for me." He joked and glanced up at her. Emma chuckled and walked over to stand behind the screen. I gave Tony's hand one last squeeze before reluctantly walking behind the screen too.

"You have very healthy lungs Emma." Tony continued. Emma chuckled again.

"Is he always like this?" she asked me. I looked over at the man fondly.

"Unfortunately. Tony's humor has always been sexist, juvenile…..raunchy. "I listed off.

"Funny." Emma added. I nodded in agreement with a small smile,

"Sometimes he can be funny." I agreed.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Gibbs was on the other side of the glass talking with headsets to the Dr. that made the plague with one of the security guards beside him. However, the guard was there unwillingly as Gibbs held him by the collar.

"There is no antidote." Dr. Pandey told him. He was inside the lab with a hazmat suit on. Gibbs was holding up his gun towards his head on the outside of the glass.

"I developed a vaccine, not an antidote. It is of no use once the victim is infected. Hannah misunderstood." The doctor explained to him.

"She understood." Gibbs countered.

"No, it's the brain tumor." Dr. Pandey corrected.

"That's what's killing her?" Gibbs asked in realization.

"It's inoperable and obviously affecting her mind. Why else would a woman who fought to ban biological weapons use them?" Dr. Pandey reasoned.

"I don't know, why is Lowell pharmaceutical making them?" Gibbs asked.

"We're not." the man insisted.

"You didn't create this beast?" Gibbs asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, but only to develop a defense against it. Antibiotic resistant diseases are potential terrorist weapons." He explained.

"A terrorist isn't killing my agent, you are!" Gibbs shouted angrily and jabbed his gun in emphasis.

"I understand you anger." The doctor tried to calm him down.

"No you don't! But if you don't save him, you will." Gibbs threatened.

"It has a suicide gene that stops it from replicating after 32 hours as a security precaution." The man urgently told Gibbs. Gibbs looked almost hopeful.

"It does?" he asked curiously.

"Yes." Dr. Pandey assured.

"It's dead now?" Gibbs asked.

"If it's over 32 hours after the specimen has been infected, all the y-pestis is dead." the man told Gibbs seriously. Gibbs slowly dropped his gun after hearing this.

"However…the damage will have been done." The doctor continued nervously. Gibbs gun came right back up.

"The specimen is going to die?" Gibbs asked.

"No, not necessarily. He has the same chance of survival as those infected in the past. Probably better since he would be healthier and young." The doctor explained.

"What was the survival rate of the past?" Gibbs asked, a little bit of frantic in the undertones of his voice.

"They were weakened by unhealthy crops, bad nutrition….." the doctor stalled.

"Damnit what was the survival rate?!" Gibbs shouted. The man paused and swallowed before answering.

"15 percent." He told Gibbs slowly. The pain in Gibb's eyes was obvious when he heard this news. It was all up to Tony if he would survive and the chances were not in his favor.

Dr. Pitt pulled up the pictures of Tony's chest x-rays from outside the isolation unit.

"It looks like pneumonia." Ducky commented as he examined them.

"Worse I'm afraid." Dr. Pitt told him. They could hear Tony's coughing from outside the room.

"He's showing signs of psyonosis, his fingernails and lips are turning blue." Brad told Ducky.

"The y-pestis is starving his body of oxygen." Ducky muttered. The two of them walked up to the glass and stared sadly at the dying man in front of them.

"It's too late to reverse, isn't it?" Ducky asked curiously. Tony's hacking was still persistent, and his heart broke for the girl standing next to him. This whole thing was tearing her up inside. But he had to admire he courage as she stood next to him, making sure to be there for any small need Tony had. If he was going to die, he wasn't going alone or with a stranger.

"It's never too late." Brad assured the man.

"Until I get the body." Ducky morbidly commented.

 **Claire's POV:**

Nurse Emma was tending to Tony while I sat on his bed next to him. I held his hand and drew comforting circles on the back of it with my thumb. Tony was breathing raggedly and Emma had to dab the blood off his blue lips since he was too weak to do anything. Tony grunted in pain and glanced up at me.

"I'm sorry I teased….you will….all those….movies Claire." Tony started apologizing, finding it painful to speak. I had to reverse this, he was giving up and I wasn't about to let that happen.

"Teased me? You tortured me for years all I've heard is John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, James Bond…." I told him, trying to keep up a hopeful attitude.

"James Bond…..is a character….." Tony coughed as he tried to speak. I smiled sadly. I knew that but I just wanted to keep his fighting spirit up. He could never turn down a change to correct a bad movie reference.

"…..Played by Shaun Connery….and George Lusby….Roger Morris….and Pierce Brosden…." Tony trailed off and started to clear his throat, but to no avail. He looked up at me with pain in his eyes, he knew he was dying. I maintained eye contact with him as Nurse Emma unbuttoned his shirt a little so she could listen to his lungs. If this was it I was going to take in everything I could about him. His hazel eyes held me anchored in the moment, I smiled inwardly at how I used to tease him about how they seemingly changed color on a daily basis. But that's what I loved about them. Just like Tony who had many sides, his eyes had many shades but in the end they were still the same entity.

"Why are you wearing a mask?" Tony suddenly asked, breaking off my thought process.

"Because I have a cold." I told him softly. I knew that he had figured it out but I still wanted to keep up the charade. Fake it till you make it, right? Tony glanced up weakly at me knowingly. My heart kept breaking every time I looked over at him and knew that he was still getting worse. I knew I could still get the infection, but I don't care. If this is it for Tony, I'm going to be here for every second. He gave me scrutinizing look.

"Why aren't you sick?" he asked with strangled breaths. I kept my tears at bay and sent a teasing smirk. Tony coughed again.

"I'm stronger than you Tony." I haughtily told him. Tony started to laugh but it ended in some coughing. I winced at the sound.

"Are not" he immediately countered. I smiled at his stubbornness.

"Am too." I told him. Tony wanted to answer but his breathing was too labored. He started choking and tried to sit up for air. I immediately grabbed onto his shoulder in panic.

"Tony, Tony sit up." Emma quickly ordered and the two of us helped him sit upright, hoping to clear his airway. He started to get some air but was still chocking. Dr. Pitt rushed into the room.

"Claire you should leave." He told me urgently, not looking my direction as he rushed towards Tony. I whipped my head to look at him in shock.

"What no." I protested. There was no way I was going to leave him. Not now.

"Now." Dr. Pitt ordered. Ducky walked in and started pulling me back as I struggled against him.

"Wait no please." I pleaded but went, not wanting to make a scene. Tony finally caught some breath and was eased back down. They closed the airtight lock to the room and took of my mask.

"Oh god." I muttered and sobbed, hand over my mouth to try and muffle them. _Anything but this. I would do anything to take his place._ The pain was too much for me to bear. The thought that he was being taken from me was worse than death, and to be taken so violently. He didn't deserve this. I couldn't live without him. Finally, all these emotions started to make sense. The jealousy, the hurt….I loved him. I loved him and I would never get the chance to say so. He was dying right in front of me and I was helpless against it. Ducky gently led me out and I crumpled into his chest, my heart couldn't take any more pain as I sobbed against him.

"You were brave to stay with him Claire." He told me as he patted my back. _To hell with bravery._

"He's dying Ducky." I sobbed brokenly. He was dying and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Ducky said nothing and glanced up at Gibbs who had entered the room.

"Ah the hell he is." Gibbs told them and stormed into the isolation, without any protection. The two watched as he entered, curious as to what his intention was.

Gibbs opened both doors of the airlocked entrances and Brad stood in front of him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who the hell are you?" Dr. Pitt asked.

"His boss." Gibbs answered and leaned in to tell Brad the news.

"The bug has a suicide gene. It's dead. It's been dead for over an hour." He told the doctor before walking over to Tony's other side.

"He's no longer infectious." He elaborated. The two medics cleared out of the room to give Gibbs privacy to talk to Tony. Gibbs leaned down towards the agent and Tony stared up at him weakly.

"You listen to me…" Gibbs began in a whisper. He paused and swallowed as he looked down at his senior agent, one that had become like a son to him.

"Are you listening?" Gibbs asked. Tony whimpered a little as he tried to get in some air.

"Uh I'm listening boss." He barely gurgled out and nodded his head.

"You will not die. You got that?" Gibbs whispered to him, no inkling of a lie in his eyes. Tony groaned and took in short rapid breaths. Gibbs gently raised his hand over Tony's head and bopped him. Tony's eyes shot open in shock. He had just Gibbs slapped him. That one action let Tony know that he was going to be just fine.

"I said, You. Will not. Die." Gibbs repeated in a gentle voice. Tony nodded.

"I got you boss." He assured. Gibbs smiled down at him.

"Good." He whispered in response. Gibbs stood up and then remembered something. He pulled out his cell that he had taken and placed it in Tony's hand.

"Here's your new cell. I'd get the number changed, women keep calling for 'Spanky'." He joked and walked out of the room. Tony stared up at the ceiling, unsure of how to react. He knew everything was going to be ok, Gibbs had proved that to him. Emma walked over and started stoking his head comfortingly while Tony clutched the phone and held it close to his chest. In his last lucid moments he couldn't help but wish it was Claire comforting him right now instead of Nurse Emma.

As Gibbs left the isolation ward he stopped when he saw Cassie talking to Sarah Lowell in the waiting room. She explained that Hannah had gone psycho and started shouting things so Cassie drove her to the hospital. The tumor was greatly affecting her sanity. They talked with her daughter. She had never been raped. She finally broke down in tears and admitted that she was with her boyfriend. He was just playing around and tied her to the bed when she commented on the cute midshipmen. When he went out for food he was killed by a hit and run driver. She had thought that the only explanation for her situation was telling her mother that she was raped. But in actuality it had just made things worse.

 **Claire's POV:**

In isolation, I was standing outside with Brad watching at Tony's vitals evened out a little. Now that he wasn't dying I had a lot to think about. Seeing people you love on the brink of death really sorts out your priorities.

"Can I sleep here?" I asked hopefully.

"As long as you don't give Tony that cold." He warned jokingly. I smiled and looked back at Tony wringing my hands in thought. He pushed the button to open the doors for me and shot me a smile as he walked off.

"He's asleep." Nurse Emma told me as she passed, leaving us alone in the room. I nodded at her and walked into the quiet room. I stood beside his bed and smiled down at his sleeping form. He looked peaceful now despite how weak and sick he was. After a moment, I crawled into the bed next to him and laid there as all the lights went off in the room.

"This reminds me of the end of _Alien_." I heard Tony mutter tiredly from beside me. I smiled and let out a soft laugh. He was going to be just fine. I was the one that had to sort things out. But for right now I just wanted to bask in the realization that he wasn't going anywhere soon.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Claire sat beside Stephen at a bar in town. All the craziness had died down over the past couple days giving her plenty of time to think on her new feelings. She had brought Stephen over to explain things. He sighed and looked over at her.

"This isn't just about me, is it?" he asked her with a soft smile. Claire gave him a rueful glance.

"Not really…." She mumbled out. He chuckled but you could still tell that he was a bit hurt.

"It's Tony, isn't it?" her eyes widened and she almost spit out her drink.

"How did you….." she asked looking at him again. He gave her a knowing look, causing her to chuckle at his expression.

"I've kinda always known. It just…..different with him than it is with me." Stephen gently explained. He could tell by the way her eyes lit up whenever she talked about him. It was apparent during college and that connection between the two was still there.

"I'm really sorry. I really like you, you're a really great guy but it just….." Claire tried to explain but Stephen held up a hand to pause her babbling.

"It's ok. I mean I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little hurt but I will live. It really is ok, don't beat yourself up about it." He assured her. She smiled and gave him a hug.

"So are we still friends? No hard feelings?" Claire asked once she had pulled away. Stephen smiled at her.

"Yea, no hard feelings. I wish you luck." He told her. She smiled and hopped down from the barstool.

"Well I have to take off. I'm having friends over later tonight." Claire told him and waved to him as she made her way out.

A few hours later Claire was pacing around her living room when she heard knocking at her door. She rushed over and flung it open. Outside stood Kate and Abby with wide eyes from her abrupt actions. Without a word Claire grabbed their arms and pulled them inside. She was trying not to freak out, but now that she was single again she didn't know what to do.

"Are you ok?" Kate asked, setting her coat and purse on one of the chairs in the living room.

"Yes…..no….OH I don't know!" Claire ranted while still pacing.

"Oh sounds juicy, do tell." Abby commented as she took a seat beside Kate on the couch. They were watching Claire pace around the room, wondering what had her all worked up.

"I broke up with Stephen" Claire finally blurted out. Kate and Abby glanced at each other. That couldn't be all.

"And that's why you're making a path in your carpet?" Abby asked while watching her pacing friend. Claire paused and glanced down at her carpet to make sure she was joking.

"No there's more…" she mumbled worriedly. Suddenly she lost all of her confidence and started to chicken out on telling them.

"I think we need alcohol….do you two want any alcohol….alcohol sounds nice right now." Claire started rambling attempting to escape to her kitchen. Her two friends however, were faster and grabbed her arms.

"No no no, you are going to tell us why you are freaking out." Kate insisted. Claire groaned and took in a breath.

"I'm in love with Tony." She finally huffed out. Abby and Kate's eyes widened but then they shared a look as if to say 'I knew it'. Claire gave them a confused look. The other two knew that this was freaking her out a little bit so in a silent conversation they determined what the next step to this girl's night venting session…..

"Let's get the alcohol." They chorused together. Claire laughed and quickly led them into the kitchen. It's was a good thing they didn't have work tomorrow. This was going to be a long night.


	24. Chapter 24

**Reminder that I DO NOT own NCIS or any of the characters other than my own OC.**

 **...**

[Twilight 1]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

It had been almost a month since Tony's scare with the pneumonic plague. A week ago he was released from the hospital and still had at least one more until he was supposed to be back to work. During that time the rest of the team had been going on like normal. At least as normal as they could be. Kate was at her desk sketching a picture of Tony lounging casually back in his chair with a carefree smile and sunglasses. In other words, a typical Tony.

"Is that Tony?" McGee asked in awe from behind her. She jumped a little and turned to look at his amazed expression. Kate quickly closed the book and turned her chair around to face him.

"No." she denied with a sigh.

"Well are you sure cause it really looked like…" Kate gave him a look. He paused for a moment and looked over at the other member of the team who was just sitting quietly at her desk. Kate and McGee gave each other a knowing look. The topic of Tony was still a little raw for her. Claire had taken a couple days off directly after he'd been released but never gave a specific reason. The emotional and mental strain it had on her was obvious so no one questioned it. During that time, she had confessed to Kate and Abby about her newfound feelings for Tony and was still trying to process it. She had liked guys before but her feelings for Tony was a whole new experience for her. Ever since then she hadn't really talked much to anyone…..especially Tony. Claire couldn't even bring herself to give him a call, let alone talk to him yet in fear that she could act suspicious around him. The two agents went silent for a moment before McGee approached Claire's desk.

"Have you talked to Tony at all yet?" he asked her cheerily, hoping to brighten her mood a little. She just glanced up at him before looking back down at her work.

"No, I've been busy." She muttered dismissively.

"Well, I could take some of it for you. I'm sure he would like it if…."

"Is there a reason you've been haunting my desk all week?" Claire finally asked with tired exasperation. With him, Kate, and Abby constantly checking on her she had grown a little agitated. McGee glanced around with a confused expression.

"Uh, no I was just…" but Claire cut in again.

"Or maybe you've decided to take over Tony's job of annoying me while he's on sick leave." she snapped as she stood and started walking McGee backwards towards his desk.

"Well I just…wanted to check that everything was ok." He stuttered out.

"Why wouldn't it be?" she countered a bit too quickly.

"Well…." He let out a sigh, understanding her situation. At he thought he did.

"…you and Tony were close, you know…" he trailed off gently.

"No, I don't know…what?" Claire pressed with a confused expression. He surely couldn't have caught on to it so soon, surely she was a better actor than that.

"He almost died." McGee muttered hesitantly, like it was something forbidden. Claire sighed and glanced away from him, understanding what this was all about now.

"We're NCIS Agents McGee. There's a chance one of us might die every time we walk through the door." she told him, putting on a neutral expression. She turned around and walked back to her desk. McGee sighed guiltily.

"Yea but I'm the idiot who handed him an envelope filled with plague." Tim pointed out. Claire paused and turned to him sympathetically. He felt guilty about the whole situation and her hostile attitude was only making him feel worse.

"Tim, it's not your fault." She assured, walking back to stand in front of McGee. He gave her a disbelieving look.

"Really, it's ok. I'm sorry I lashed out at you." Claire apologized, smiling stiffly at the sensitive man. McGee smiled back, indicating she was a forgiven. Kate took a step towards the two.

"Look if you wanna think about something …why don't you think about all the times that Tony has insulted us. Invaded our privacy. The fact that he almost died, owing us all money." She pointed out, getting fiercer with every sentence. McGee stared down at her thoughtfully while Claire grinned in amusement.

"That's true he can be pretty obnoxious." McGee mused, starting to follow her advice. Kate nodded in agreement. Suddenly Tony's desk phone rang and the agents stared at it with pained expressions, momentarily forgetting what they had just been talking about. They could push away the feelings all they wanted but the pain was still there.

"Do you miss him as much as I do?" McGee asked them, not looking away from the ringing phone. Kate nodded with a sigh.

"Yea." Kate agreed.

"More…..it's part of his charm. He's like an X rated Peter Pan." Claire admitted with an eye roll. Kate glanced over at her, knowing the full depth of how much she missed him. She took a couple steps back towards her desk before turning back to look at McGee.

"You know he told all the girls downstairs that you're gay, right?" Kate informed him with a grimace which morphed into a smirk. Claire glanced over at her in surprise before smiling. She understood what Kate's plan was. McGee folded his arms, his expression becoming angry as she continued.

"He said it would cut down on the competition." Claire added. McGee opened his mouth and shut it a few times, not able to process what Tony had done.

"That bastard." He muttered, scrunching up his nose. Kate smiled in triumph and stuck out both of her hands towards him.

"Hold onto that feeling…..and you'll be just fine." she told him with a smile. Claire giggled a little, turning McGee's attention towards her.

"You wanna know what he said about you?" McGee started, making Claire look at him curiously.

"That you tried to sleep with him while you were in Paraguay." He told her. Claire's smile dropped and she clenched her jaw.

"I. Will. Kill. Him." She grounded out.

"What about me?" Kate asked as she watched the two of them. Both of their faces dropped and they glanced away from her. Kate's dropped her arms and continued looking intently at the two of them.

"Oh will you look at that…I have some papers to go copy." Claire muttered, looking down at her bare wrist. Before Kate could say anything, Claire had dashed off leaving her partner to fend for himself. Kate turned to McGee who had a very uncomfortable expression.

"Spill." She ordered.

 **Tony's POV:**

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Gibbs asked. I was leaning against the back of the elevator, staring up at the ceiling…hoping that this ride would be over soon and stop my head from spinning.

"I've never felt better." I whispered out, not taking my eyes off the ceiling. It came out a little weaker than I had intended, but I'm not quite up to speed yet.

"Yea?"

"Yea." I reaffirmed weakly. Gibbs smirked as he turned back around.

"You look like crap." He told me. I looked at the back of his head with a wry smile.

"I missed you too boss." I told the man genuinely, understanding Gibbs' odd way of displaying affection. The fact that he was letting me even come to NCIS was saying a lot.

"You've got another week of sick leave coming Tony, you should take it." Gibbs told me seriously. I returned to staring back up at the ceiling. _Like that's gonna happen._

"I was going crazy at home. Maybe I'm not 100% but….you need me." I insisted, trying to convince myself as well as Gibbs. He just gave me an amused look, seeing right through me. _Alright new tactic._

"Ok….what about Kate and McGee? They're practically lost without me." I tried hoping I'll get something.

"They've gotten more work done in the last two weeks than they have all year." Gibbs told me and walked out of the elevator. I was frozen in my spot, before coming to my senses and rushing after him.

"But what about Claire? At least she missed me, right?" I asked, scurrying after Gibbs. I hadn't heard from her since she left ICU once I was on the mend from the plague. She stayed with me the first night and then just….left. I mean I tried calling her but she never picked up, and she never came to visit me. It hurt a lot but I kept rationalizing that she had to have a good reason…..right? I hope everything was ok.

"Yea….something like that." Gibbs told me cryptically. _What was that supposed to mean?_

"I can't wait to see their faces!" I exclaimed and ducked down so they couldn't see me behind Gibbs. _The looks on their faces are going to be priceless!_ I crouched down until I was in front of Kate's desk and hopped up like a little kid.

"Hi Kate!" I shouted with a broad grin before coughing a little from the outburst. Kate didn't even spare me a look as she swiveled in her chair and continued her phone call. I frowned. _That's weird._

"It must be important." I muttered to myself. _That had to be it._ I looked up to see McGee making his way into the bullpen. _He's not busy._ As he approached I opened my arms wide for a hug.

"Probie, did you miss me? Long time no…." I started but trailed off as McGee walked right on past me without a word or even a glance. I let my arms drop to my side.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked pitifully. Kate didn't answer as she hung up the phone and walked past me to the front of Gibbs desk. I frowned and followed behind her like a lost puppy. Did nobody care that I was back? I glanced around for the person I knew would talk to me…but Claire wasn't anywhere to be found. _What was going on here?_

"Virginia state police just got a 911 call Gibbs. Two dead sailors." Kate told Gibbs.

"Where?" he asked.

"Right off route 17 in Fredericksburg." She told him, handing over the file. I shuffled on my feet anxious to get back on a case. Finally, I'll have something to do.

"Let's roll, gas the truck." Gibbs called, pulling the keys out of his desk. Ah this is where I come in.

"Sure…." I started with a smile and reached up for the keys Gibbs had tossed. However, my smile dropped as the keys went over me and landed in McGee's hands.

"Sure thing boss." McGee answered as the three of them rummaged around gathering their stuff. I stood in the middle of the room, thoroughly confused. _What was going on here? Am I invisible now?_

"Maybe I did die." I muttered. _That had to be it, I died and this is just some alternate reality or something_. _One where nobody likes me._ Gibbs looked at me and his lips quirked in amusement.

"Feel that?"

"Feel what?" I asked in confusion. Suddenly a force barreled into me from behind and knocked, what little breath I had, out of me. Gibbs smirked as I let out a pained whine and looked down at the familiar hands that were wrapped around my waist _. It felt good to be in her arms again._ _Wait…..what?_

"You're still alive." Gibbs assured, taking in my breathless form. _Well at least Claire still likes me_. I smiled and turned to face her, expecting a waterfall of emotional blubbering about how much she missed me. Claire smiled at me for a second before suddenly glaring and punching me in the shoulder….hard. I yelped in pain and stared at her incredulously. _Ok….. Maybe she didn't like me after all._ Without a word, she walked off towards the elevators, with me staring after her in shock.

"Welcome back DiNozzo." Gibbs called as he followed after her. I just stood there dumbly in the middle of the room, cradling my bruising arm. _What the hell was going on here?_

 **Claire's POV:**

After a silent ride, we all pulled up to the roadside where the men were found. Tony and McGee were interviewing the state troopers while Kate was taking pictures. Gibbs and I were examining the car from where it had been pushed down a ravine after the sailors were shot.

"This shooter knew what he was doing Gibbs." I commented as I took in the scene. The two men had been shot in the chest and in the back multiple times. It was to clean for it to be an amateur.

"Tight groupings, three rounds each." Kate listed off, following my train of thought. Gibbs leaned down to examine the car closely.

"Every one of them a kill shot." Gibbs added. He reached down and fished a wallet out of one of the men's pockets.

"The passenger is Kurtis Jansen from Pensacola Florida. He's got a military ID, the credit cards and money are intact." Gibbs told us as he sifted through the wallet.

"So rule out a robbery?" Kate asked as she continued photographing.

"Depends." Gibbs told her and as he walked around the back of the car.

"On what?" she asked, not looking up.

"On what else is missing Kate." I clarified. She nodded, seeing my point.

"It looks like the killer tried to clean up." Kate told us nodding to the bloody rag on the driver's lap. Gibbs lifted it up to reveal his hands missing.

"Not exactly." I muttered, scrunching my nose. Kate gasped in disgust.

"Well we know he took at least two things with him when he left." Gibbs joked dryly, peering at the man closer to see if there was anything else to find.

"He needed his prints?" Kate asked. Gibbs didn't answer but handed her the rag.

"Bag it." He told her and looked back at the crime scene. _Better her than me I guess._

"Boss, state cops ran the mustang's plates. It's a rental car." Tony called from the top of the hill and started making his way down.

"…out of Dulles airport. I got a call and this….uhh!..." Tony's sentence was cut off as his foot caught and he tumbled down the rest of the hill. I winced as he thumped his way down the hill. _He really should've taken another week off, but in hindsight I'm glad he was here_. With yelps of pain Tony rolled until he landed on his stomach at my feet. He froze and gasped out in pain as the breath was knocked out of him, on top of him not being fully recovered from the plague episode.

"You ok?" Gibbs calmly asked as he glanced over at Tony.

"I'm just trying to catch my breath." Tony slurred out in obvious discomfort.

"Should've taken that extra week off DiNozzo." Gibbs scolded him and walked up the hill. Kate and I continued to look down at him with small grins as Tony struggled to regain his composure.

"Help him up, I'll see what's keeping Ducky." Gibbs called as he rounded the corner.

"Did that hurt?" Kate playfully mocked as she poised the camera.

"Yup" Tony whispered as he painfully looked up at her. When he did, Kate snapped a picture of his expression.

"Good." She told him cheekily and walked back over to the car while Tony raised his hand, pitifully trying to get her help. I giggled a little and he looked up at me with a truly pitiful gaze. With a reluctant sigh, I reached down to pull him up.

"You really should've taken that extra week Tony." I scolded. Tony just grunted as he straightened himself and glanced at me thoughtfully.

"Well at least I got you to talk to me." He told me with a serious look. My smile faltered just a little by how sincere he was. I knew it was petty for me not to talk to him during his recovery, but I just couldn't. Against my will I smiled again at him, getting lost in the eyes I had missed. After a few more moments of staring I snapped out of it and made my way up the hill. _Keep it together Claire._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Gibbs walked over to McGee who was getting equipment out of the back of one of the NCIS vans. He looked around, noting that Ducky and Palmer weren't there yet.

"Where the hell are they McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Well they must have taken a wrong turn again boss." McGee answered with a sigh. In that moment, the autopsy van pulled up next to them, with Palmer and Ducky arguing loudly.

"You should have known right and left!" Ducky shouted at his assistant while Gibbs calmly opened the door for his friend. Ducky hopped down from the cab with a map in his hands.

"I'm terribly sorry Jethro, Mr. Palmer got us lost again." Ducky growled, and Gibbs just nodded silently.

"Um, you had the map." Jimmy accused as he walked around towards them.

"You gave it to me." Ducky countered and pushed the map into Jimmy's hands with a huff.

"Sir, for the record…" Jimmy continued as they scurried to the back of the van to get out their supplies. Gibbs and McGee grabbed their own stuff and walked away like nothing had happened.

...

Tony and Kate were still evaluating the crime scene while Claire had gone up to help McGee. Kate had noticed the little encounter Claire and Tony had but decided not to say anything about it.

"Looks like a professional hit." Tony commented as he looked at the bullet wounds.

"He probably took the hands to confirm the kill." He added. Kate rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"McGee told me what you said." She told him with a glare. Tony looked up at her with a blank expression.

"Did he now?" he asked. Kate didn't smile but continued staring at him icily.

"Oh come on…I was joking around." He played off as he walked over to her with a grin. Kate still said nothing.

"I didn't think he'd really believe me." Tony muttered, still maintaining his grin.

"Really? And why is that?" she asked calmly.

"Anyone looking at you could tell your breasts are real." He replied easily. Kate's face morphed into one of shock as she quickly looked down at her chest before staring at him.

"Wha…you told him I had breast implants?" she asked, still in shock. _That is not what she had been told._ Tony's face was impassive…until he let out a huff of amusement, letting a smile break across his face.

"No.." he chuckled.

"Are you kidding me!? I can't believe I worried about you, you're nothing but a…"

"Snake." Tony finished for her.

"Yea." She agreed.

"No, down there. Big big snake right there." Tony told her and looked at her foot. Kate looked down and let out a gasp as she watched the snake slither around her foot. She watched it and started breathing heavily and whimpered.

"Tell me it's not poisonous." She looked up at Tony pleadingly. Tony looked down at it.

"It think it is." He told her seriously. Kate whimpered again and looked down to find it wrapping around her ankle.

"Ew… what is it doing?" she muttered. Tony shushed her and tried to calm her down.

"It's just wrapping around your leg." He pointed out calmly. This didn't help at all and Kate closed her eyes tightly and continued whimpering.

"Do something Tony!" she told him urgently. Tony held out his hands in a calming motion as he started to lean down.

"Ok, I'll try and grab it. Just don't make any sudden moves alright." He instructed. Kate continued whimpering as Tony slowly knelt down in front of her.

"What if you miss it?" she asked anxiously.

"I'm not gonna miss it. I watch this on the discovery channel all the time, how hard can it be?" he told her dismissively and reached for the snake. This did not make her feel any better.

"Oh screw it! I'm gonna shoot it." she told him and whipped out her gun.

"Hey, put that gun away." He told her in an even voice as he looked up at her. Kate slowly put it away.

"You're going to blow your foot off. Let me do this." He assured her.

"My life in your hands…..I knew it was gonna end this way." She whined. Tony jerked his hands back as the snake moved.

"Quiet. You're making me nervous." He scolded and went back to the snake. Kate looked away from him and bit her lip. Tony reached down and picked up the snake, before flailing a little as he tried to get it under control. Kate watched with wide eyes and cried out anytime he made a sudden move. After a few seconds Tony held the snake comfortably and beamed up at her.

"Ok I'll give you this, you do have your moments." She told him as she got her breathing under control. Tony giggled childishly.

"So are we friends again?" he asked her.

 **Claire's POV:**

McGee and I made our way down to the car where Tony was crouched in front of her…..holding a snake?

"Oh cool a corn snake, can I hold him?" McGee asked Tony excitedly.

"No! It's poisonous." Kate warned. I gave her an odd look.

"Uh no actually they're not Kate." I correceted. Tony's eyes widened as he stared up at me.

"Yes. They. Are. Claire." Tony ground out pointedly. My eyes widened in amusement. He had Kate believing that this was a poisonous snake?

"What about the one you caught at Shenandoah state park. You had it around your neck for like an hour." McGee asked in confusion. I mentally groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. _Oh, McGee._ Kate looked down at Tony with a glare.

"That near fatal illness may have clouded my memory." Tony told her sheepishly. Kate growled and kicked him in the chest, knocking him onto his back.

"You're such a loser. Alright back to work. Claire check the trunk. Nobody touch the bodies until Ducky says all clear." She told the two of us.

"Ooohhh bossy." I muttered under my breath. Tony just lied there looking up at her. I rolled my eyes at his antics and went to unlock the trunk, grabbing his attention.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

As Tony turned his head his eyes widened in alarm.

"Freeze Claire don't move!" he shouted urgently, and jumped up. Claire froze with the key still in the lock and looked over at him worriedly.

"The cars wired to explode." Tony told them as he slowly walked over to stand beside her. They both swallowed thickly.

"It looks like the detonators tied to the trunk." He explained shakily, thinking back to what he had seen under the car while he was on the ground. One more second and she would have been dead.

"How far did you turn the key?" Kate asked.

"Um I'm not sure almost all the way I think." she told her nervously.

"Ok let's let it just snap back." Tony suggested and slowly put his own hands over hers.

"Ok" Claire agreed looking up at him nervously. Tony gave her a reassuring nod. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

"Now let go." Tony told her gently. Claire did as he asked and walked over to where Kate was. Tony held his breath as he carefully held the key in place.

"Now all of you run" he told them with a quick look.

"Tony were not leaving you standing here." Claire immediately argued.

"I'm a lot faster than you are, I'll be right behind you. This is not a debate!" he told them seriously, leaving no room for argument. He was talking to all of them but kept his gaze on Claire. Kate and McGee nodded reluctantly and dashed back up the hill. Claire didn't move.

"Claire get out of here." He growled at her with an unknown expression in his eyes. She had to get out of here.

"Tony, you and I both know that in your condition you won't make it far." She countered seriously. Tony sighed and looked back down at the key. He couldn't argue with that.

"Anthony….you should have taken that extra week." He muttered to himself. The two stared at one another intensely before staring back down at the key Tony was holding on to.

Gibbs was on his cell when Kate and McGee raced up the hill.

"It's the car!" McGee shouted.

"It's wired to…" Kate was cut off as the car exploded and knocked all the investigators off their feet. After a moment, they all looked up from where they were lying and glanced around.

"Tony! Claire!" Kate shouted frantically as she noticed their absence. She should have known that Claire wasn't going to leave him down there. After a moment of agonizing silence the two in question made their way up. Claire was helping Tony crawl up the hill, both of them breathless. Tony, still recovering from his condition and Claire because she was doing most of the work.

"Boss, you remember when I told you I never felt better?" Tony asked as he crossed the caution tape.

"I lied." He muttered and collapsed in exhaustion. Claire leaned against a tree and rubbed soothing circles on his back. This was not their day.

 **Claire's POV:**

Once we got back to NCIS Ducky was doing a full checkup on Tony. All of us were down in autopsy.

"I'm telling you I'm fine." Tony mumbled with a thermometer in his mouth. I shot him a knowing look, which he conveniently avoided. Ducky took off the blood pressure cuff from Tony's arm and looked at him seriously.

"136 over 84 is not fine for you Tony. Your blood pressure is high." Ducky told him.

"Almost getting blown up by a car tends to do that to me." Tony muttered, the thermometer still in his mouth. He glanced over at my nervous form.

"So does being around Claire when she's in one of her moods." Tony added, giving me a pointed look. I didn't smile. _How could he be making jokes about this?_

"This isn't funny, Tony." I told him sternly. Tony simply shrugged as Ducky pulled the thermometer out of his mouth.

"No it's not, if I hadn't come to work today you, Kate, and McGee would be lying on one of those tables over there." Tony pointed out, nodding his head towards the charred remains. _Thanks for the reminder._

"Well at least your temperature is pretty normal." Ducky told him as he put away the thermometer.

"Yeah, I'm good to go." Tony told me with a smile. However once his feet hit the ground his eyes widened in pain and he dropped a little, hanging onto the side of the table for support. I started forward but Tony simply waved me off. _Now he was just being stubborn._

"Muscle soreness?" Ducky asked.

"Only when I move or breath." Tony answered nonchalantly.

"Well it's clear you haven't fully recovered from your bout with y-pestis, you need a rest." Ducky told him. Tony slowly reached over for his jacket.

"No, what I need is to work Ducky" he countered. I scoffed and rolled my eyes at him. _Why was he being so stupid?!_

"Oh damn it Tony, I should just take you home and get you in bed." I told him. Ducky and Tony both looked over at me questioningly. Noticing their gaze, I immediately blushed once I realized what that sounded like.

"Ok, that didn't come out the way I intended." I quickly backtracked. Just then Gibbs came walking into the autopsy lab.

"What didn't Claire?" Gibbs asked and stopped beside me. _Oh, kill me now._

"Oh…I….I was just saying..." I nervously trailed off. Thankfully Ducky jumped in to save me.

"She was just…uh expressing uh…concern for Tony." Ducky stuttered, gesturing to the beaming man beside him. I wanted to slap that look off Tony's smug face.

"Yeah, how is he?" Gibbs asked, giving Tony a once over and luckily forgetting about me. Ducky sighed.

"Stubborn, big headed, and unaware of his own limitations." Ducky listed off.

"Sounds about right." Gibbs muttered and walked over towards the bodies.

"I haven't finished with you yet." Ducky warned before walking after him. Tony didn't pay any attention as he smiled cheekily at me. I looked down, deciding that the floor was much more interesting at the moment.

"Positive ID Duck?" I heard Gibbs call. Using this as a getaway I walked over to them, with Tony following closely behind.

"So do you wanna buy me dinner first, or should we just go back to your place?" Tony teasingly whispered into my ear, causing an involuntary shudder to shoot down my spine. It earned him an elbow to the gut to hide my burning face. I need to get these new emotions under control.

"Thankfully the skulls remained relatively intact." Ducky explained, oblivious to the conversation that had just happened.

"The problem is sorting out which parts belong to whom." Palmer added.

"Well yea I can see that Palmer." Gibbs commented sarcastically.

"The dental records were conclusive. The victims were Dean Westfall and Curtis Janson." Ducky told him, as he looked at the names on the files.

"Well that checks. According to the rental place, Westfall rented a mustang two months ago." Tony told them.

"Claire pull up their service records. Have McGee find out who made that 911 call." Gibbs ordered. He walked over and stopped beside Tony who was leaning heavily on one of the shelves.

"Tony…." Gibbs started.

"Yeah boss?" Tony asked as he straightened up. Gibbs looked him over warily.

"Go lie down before you pass out." he told him and walked out of autopsy. Tony chuckled weakly.

"I'm not gonna pass out." Tony dismissed. It looked like he was convincing himself more than us. The other three of us in the room shared a knowing look.

"…..I might cry a little. Maybe feel sorry for myself. But DiNozzo's do not pass out." Tony rambled as he slowly headed out of the room and followed Gibbs onto the elevator. I shook my head at him.

"Can't you do something Duck?" I asked with a heavy sigh.

"Well I'm doing it right now." He assured. I scrunched up my brows.

"What?" I asked.

"Praying." Ducky told me with a smile. I laughed a little, that's about all you could do with Tony.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Up in the bullpen McGee was sitting on the edge of Tony's desk, staring at the screen blankly.

"You gonna be ok?" McGee asked.

"Sure." Tony deadpanned. McGee glanced down at the floor where he was lying behind his desk.

"You're not looking so hot." McGee pointed out.

"Well, at least it's an improvement." Tony muttered dryly.

"From what?"

"According to Gibbs, I look like crap." He informed McGee and closed his eyes tiredly.

"You know Claire's really been worried about you." McGee told him.

"Claire worries about everything." Tony pointed out.

"No I mean….really worried." McGee insisted. Tony opened his eyes and looked up at him with a bored expression. However, on the inside his interest was piqued.

"What's your point Probie?" Tony asked.

"Well I think that maybe…..you know." McGee suggested with a thoughtful glance at Tony. Tony chuckled.

"Me and Claire?" he laughed lightly.

"Will never happen." He insisted with a serious tone and closed his eyes again. Sure, it had crossed his mind once or twice over the years but it was never going to happen. Tony had accepted that a long time ago.

"Why not?" McGee asked curiously.

"She's too smart for that." Tony told him, fully believing what he was saying. Claire would never go for someone like him. McGee glanced around before standing up.

"You know what, you don't believe me? She's coming right now. Shhh." McGee told him, determined to make his point. Claire walked over to them, unaware of Tony behind the desk.

"Gibbs wants to know who made that 911 call this morning Tim." She told him and sat down at her desk. McGee nodded.

"On it." He told her. Claire looked up and glanced around noticing Tony's absence.

"Where's DiNozzo?" she asked.

"Um I think he's laying down somewhere." Tim told her, technically not lying.

"Oh good, he needs it." she mused, and went back to typing on her computer.

"You care a lot about him don't you Claire?" McGee asked. She looked up at him curiously, hiding her slight alarm. There's no way he could have found out about her feelings, Kate and Abby would never do that. However, her fears went away as she noticed him subtly pointing behind the desk. She got the message. Might as well have some fun with it.

"Uh well he's my teammate." She pointed out, playing along.

"Well I don't know, sometimes I think it might be more than that." McGee suggested. Claire huffed with a smile.

"Tony are you kidding?" she asked. Tony frowned a little. She didn't have to put it that way.

"Oh come on, you've never thought about it?" McGee persisted. Claire grinned. Well yes….but they didn't have to know that.

"Um…well I guess there are times when Tony can be, charming…." She started making her way over towards the desk. Tony's raised his brows in pleasant surprise as he listened to Claire.

"….warm, not completely obnoxious." She told McGee as she stopped in front of Tony's desk. McGee smiled a little as she began unscrewing the cap to her water bottle.

"Right, so what if he wasn't your teammate?" McGee continued.

"That's a tough one…..honestly?...I'd jump him in a second." She told him bluntly. Tony's eyes practically popped out of his head. Meanwhile McGee was desperately trying not to laugh, thinking she was 100% joking.

"Well I mean he's smart, brave…" Tony rolled onto his side to listen in better.

"…not to mention kinda hot." she continued. Tony smirked, he still had it.

"You know in a different world I could see myself marrying someone like him." She told McGee, who simply hummed. At this moment Claire leaned over and dumped her water bottle onto Tony's head. Tony jerked and yelped in surprise. Claire and McGee chuckled as they watched him get up to glare at her over his desk.

"Very funny." He glared. He swallowed back a hurt look as he realized she was just fabricating all of that stuff. She would never go after him, but it hurt that she got his hopes up for a moment whether she meant to or not. Claire shot him a smug smile.

"Hey, I thought I told you to lie down." Gibbs scolded Tony as he walked up to the bullpen. Hearing his voice, the other two quickly scattered.

"I was.." Tony told him. Gibbs wasn't convinced. Seeing his expression Tony stuttered and pointed at Claire accusingly but didn't say anything.

"I am." He relented and laid back down on the floor.

"Not here." Gibbs corrected as he walked away. Tony groaned and looked back over at Claire. She smiled sweetly at him, while he glared and grabbed his stuff. As he passed she waved at him, wiggling her fingers childishly. Tony returned the gesture in a sarcastic manner before growling at her as he followed Gibbs.


	25. Chapter 25

[Twilight 2] 

**Tony's POV:**

I walked down into Abby's lab, per Gibb's instructions to find somewhere to lay down and rest. When I walked in she had her back to me and was messing with one of her machines.

"Well hey there little lady." I called out in my best John Wayne imitation. Abby smiled, knowing exactly who it was.

"Tony!" she cheered as she turned around to greet me in her enthusiastic way.

"You're back I missed you!" she shouted happily and ran towards me. I smiled fondly at her, and waited for the traditional Abby Sciuto hug. Without warning she launched herself at me, effectively knocking what little wind I had out of me again. I let out a small grunt of pain as I struggled to regain my composure from the sudden attack. I hugged her back after a moment of hesitation and struggled to contain my whimpers. _Tony DiNozzo feels no pain._

"Oh what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" She frantically asked grabbing my shoulders worriedly. I let out a deep breath before composing myself fully. _Man, this being sick thing has really taken it out of me._

"I'm fine. I'm just a little sore, you know….from the explosion and all." I told her quietly, not completely lying. _I was sore from the explosion…and me not staying on sick leave_. Abby's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry. Do you want to sit down?" she asked, and gently started to lead me over towards her office space.

"Well I was actually thinking about lying down next to your little refrigerator thingy right here." I explained as I walked with her at a slow pace.

"Sure sure." She assured and walked into her office space. I sighed in happiness as I leaned up against the cold surface of the refrigerator. It felt so comforting.

"You can use Bert as a pillow." Abby told me as she handed over her stuffed hippo. I began to slowly make my way down and I smiled as I gingerly laid my head on the stuffed animal. **_*FART*_** My face scrunched up in confusion as I glanced at the animal beneath me. _I know that didn't come from me._

"He's supposed to make that noise." Abby explained, holding in a giggle.

"You have a stuffed animal that farts?" I asked her dryly. _I wouldn't put it past her but still._

"Yea it's cool huh?" she continued excitedly. I gave her a curious look. _Cool isn't exactly the word I would use for it._

"Yea….in a disturbing way." I hesitantly agreed.

"So what did I miss?" I asked as he leaned back on the pillow again….. ** _*FART*_** _Gee that wasn't going to be annoying._ Abby knelt down next to me.

"Gibbs has been cranky since you've been gone, I think his knee is bothering him again. And Claire broke up with her boyfriend, which I'm still trying to decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing." She explained rather quickly. _Wait…..Claire broke up with Stephen?_ I looked up at her in mild surprise. _She didn't mention anything about that. Is that why she's been all weird?_ I couldn't help but suppress the pleased smile that threatened to break across my face. I shouldn't be smiling; why do I feel happy about them ending the relationship? My hormones must be out of wack from the plague or something.

"Really? I guess it's a good thing then." I muttered under my breath, but apparently, Abby heard.

"Now why do you think that?" she asked, giving me a knowing smile. _What is that about?_ However, I didn't want to elaborate on the subject.

"What? Nothing so, how about the case, Abby?" he asked her with a pointed look. She sighed but didn't press it.

"I got a glimpse of the bomb. It was definitely a pro job." I added.

"You are correct sir." She agreed. Abby jumped forward a little and unfolded her legs so she could lie down next to me.

"I've run 10 samples. The main electric charge is C4 with dead cord and blasting caps." She explained from beside me.

"So we should be able to trace the source of the manufacturer." I told her as we both stared up at the ceiling while we talked. I shifted my head a little so I could look at her. **_*FART*_**

"You would think so but no." she corrected. I scrunched up my face again. _That's weird. There's no way that's possible._

"Abby, every military explosive over the last 20 years has had a tag installed for identification purposes." I told her.

"Yup but these don't." she answered me knowingly.

"So you're saying that this guy made this stuff from scratch?" I asked. Abby shook her head.

"No, the composition is the exact same as off the shelf." She assured. _What?_

"That's not possible, how is that possible?" I muttered in confusion.

"It shouldn't be possible." Abby agreed. The two of us watched as a third figure came into view.

"Oh its possible" Gibbs assured as he looked down at the two of us. I shifted again **_*FART*._** My eyes widened nervously. _That's embarrassing._

"That…..that's just the stuffed animal boss." I assured. I turned my head towards Abby. **_*FART*_** _This was not helping my case._

"Right Abby?" I asked for backup.

"What stuffed animal?" she playfully asked. _Ha Ha very funny._ Gibbs leaned down and helped Abby stand back up.

"Abs are you sure these explosives aren't traceable?" Gibbs asked as he lead her over to the computers.

"Um so far but I'm still checking." She told him as she went back over to her computers.

"What about the detonator?" he asked.

"Also weird. The electronics are all simple but there's no serial number on anything, it's like it's been sanitized." She explained. I decided that this was a good time to start the long process of getting up. **_*FART*_**

"Let's go DiNozzo we've got problems. Someone's trying to kill us again." Gibbs casually told me as he made his way out of the lab. I took in a sharp breath as I straightened up and handed Abby her hippo back. _He has to be joking, right? What are the odds that someone tries to kill us back to back times?_

"I don't think he meant that literally." I told her as I trotted off after my boss. Abby pursed her lips worriedly and hugged her hippo in comfort **_*FART*._**

 **Claire's POV:**

Up in the bullpen Kate and I were reading up on the officer's files while McGee finished up a phone call.

"Ok thanks sergeant, we'll still….uh…..need a copy of the dispatch tape." McGee hung up the phone as Gibbs walked in, followed by a sluggish Tony. He was still feeling rough but the man was too stubborn to go home.

"Boss, according to state police the 911 call was…" McGee began but was cut off.

"Anonymous?" Gibbs guessed.

"Yes, it was also…"

"Untraceable" Gibbs finished again and started working on his own computer. McGee looked at him in confusion.

"Um…..yea there sending a tape of the call over." McGee quietly finished. He looked over at me and mouthed 'how?', still curious as to how Gibbs already knew everything. I just shrugged my shoulders. How was I to know the mystery that is Gibbs.

"Kate tell me about the lieutenants." Gibbs told her. She walked over to join the rest of us.

"They're both pilots Gibbs." She told him before standing up and walking to the big screen behind him, where the info was pulled up.

"Lt. Curtis Jansen is an instructor in Pensacola." She began.

"What's he doing in Virginia?" Gibbs asked and turned to look at the photo.

"According to his unit, he was on leave visiting his friend, Lt. Dean Westfall." Kate listed off and turned to me for the rest.

"He's also from Pensacola but over the last few months has been at the TAD proving grounds in Maryland." I read off.

"Proving grounds?" McGee asked.

"It's where they test new military equipment and technology Probie." Tony quickly told him.

"Maybe they used Westfall's prints to access the base." Tony suggested.

"I already checked Tony, none of Aberdeen's systems require finger prints or palm scanners." I told him with a frown.

"What was he working on there?" Gibbs asked.

"Classified." I told him. Gibbs gave me a look. _Well that was the wrong answer._ I sheepishly looked down, already knowing what he wanted.

"I will find out." I assured quietly.

"What's going on boss?" Tony asked, just as confused as the rest of us.

"The car didn't have any military decals and the lieutenants were wearing civvies." He pointed out.

"And the 911 caller specifically said it was two dead sailors." McGee added on in realization.

"They wanted NCIS to investigate the scene." I continued, following the train of thought.

"Why?" Kate asked.

"The same reason they rigged that car to explode Kate." Gibbs told her before walking out.

"We were set up. So, someone really is trying to kill us?" Tony asked worriedly.

"Yea…and they came pretty damn close." Gibbs told us easily. _Well, isn't that just peachy._

...

Later that night Kate, McGee and I were over at her desk munching on some Chinese takeout. McGee glanced over at Tony who was lounging back in his chair with a blank expression. He had been awfully quiet today.

"Do you want some?" McGee offered. Tony slowly tilted his head to look at us.

"No thank you." He dismissed and went back to his blank expression. McGee shared a look with the two of us.

"He passed up free food." he commented worriedly.

"Maybe he is dying." Kate joked.

"Well I haven't had much of an appetite lately Kate. On account of having the pneumonic plague." He pointed out with a 'duh' tone and shot a pointed look her way.

"Yea I know Tony, I was there. You don't have to keep bringing it up every five minutes." I told him tensely. The whole thing already shook me up, there's no need to be constantly reminded that he almost died.

"It's not every day you escape the clutches of the black death Claire." He continued with emphasis.

"It's a life changing experience." He told us. _Now he's just being dramatic._ Kate and McGee gave him odd looks as he rattled on.

"How so, Tony?" McGee asked. Tony gave him a small glare.

"Ask Claire….she was there." He countered sarcastically. _Ouch, there's no need to take it out on me._ _It's his own fault that he's stuck feeling crappy at work_. Just then Gibbs walked into the bullpen.

"Hey I wanna know what Westfall was doing in Aberdeen by the time I get back." He told us and rummaged through his desk.

"Where are you going?" Kate asked as we watched him curiously.

"Out." he answered vaguely. _Well that's helpful._

"McGee, I want a reason why someone would chop off his hands." Gibbs instructed and walked over to the group.

"Tony…" Gibbs snatched McGee's food out of his hands and set it on Tony's desk.

"Eat something." Gibbs ordered gently and walked out. I held back a smile at Gibbs' soft side. As he was walking away he made eye contact with me and nodded towards Tony. I nodded in understanding. 'Make sure he isn't stupid and actually takes care of himself'. McGee scrunched up his face as he finished up the last bite he had in his mouth before his food was taken away. Tony slowly reached out and grabbed the box, looking a bit green as he peered down into it. He really wasn't feeling food at the moment. With a sigh, I walked over to my desk and grabbed some Advil and a bottle of water. I walked over to Tony's desk and held the pills out to him. He looked up at me and smiled sheepishly as he took them out of my hands.

"Thanks." He muttered quietly. I just sent him a small smile in return.

"Sorry for my comment a minute ago." He muttered as he swallowed them with the water.

"It's ok. You're always an ass when you're sick…..well more of an ass than usual." I told him cheekily. Tony gave me an unimpressed look but couldn't fight off the smile.

"I'm not sick." He protested with a grumble. Without another word, I walked back over to my takeout food and smiled when I saw Tony start to pick at his stolen meal. My heart warmed at the sight of him going back to normal. Maybe getting keeping things the same between us wouldn't be as hard as I thought…..for now anyway. After a few minutes of small talk, we all decided to get to work on what Gibbs had told us. After all we had no idea when he would be back.

...

McGee paced around the center isle of the bullpen in thought. Kate was on the phone and Tony was munching on his new food while I was perched on the edge of his desk…just watching McGee pace.

"Why take someone's hands?" McGee asked to no one in particular. That was the question of the hour.

"Trophies?" Tony suggested.

"Then why leave the other lieutenants?" McGee countered. _Fair point._

"If he's chopping hands off I don't think we can expect him to be rational McGee." I chimed in. Tony was picking through his food and analyzing every piece warily, but at least he was eating something.

"We've got trouble." McGee told us as he watched someone walk out of the elevator. However, none of us were looking that direction.

"What was your first hint?" Kate asked sarcastically.

"The two dead bodies downstairs or the explosion McGee?" Tony added dryly, making Kate chuckle. Noticing his gaze, I followed his line of sight and my brows rose in surprise.

"I think he means FBI trouble." I corrected. Tony and Kate's expressions dropped as they whipped around to look at Fornell who was walking towards us.

"Fornell?" Kate asked as he approached.

"Must be in worse shape than we thought." Tony muttered under his breath. I glanced back at him and smiled in amusement.

"Where's Gibbs?" Fornell immediately asked as he glanced around the room.

"He's not here." I told him.

"Where is he Agent Conners?" He snapped. I narrowed my eyes a little but didn't retaliate.

"He's out, try him on his cell" I told him calmly.

"I did, he's not answering." Fornell told me.

"What's going on?" Tony asked as he watched the interaction. Fornell glanced around the room.

"Ari Aswari is back in the country." He told us. You could feel the tension that immediately flooded the room. I had heard about what happened a year ago with Kate in the autopsy. This was just added to my own stories with the devil. We had some disagreements when my undercover work led me to team up with Mossad on a couple occasions. To say that we don't get along well is a major understatement. Tony immediately sat up in his chair, while the others looked at Fornell in alarm.

"You let that psycho back in the states without telling us?" Kate asked him heatedly.

"He was helping us uncover an Al Qaida cell in the DC area." Fornell told her as explanation. _What makes them think that bastard can be trusted with something like that?!_ Tony looked at him like he was insane, sharing my thoughts.

"What do you mean _supposed to_ Fornell?" Tony asked warily.

"We now think he's here for more personal reasons. He's planning on killing Gibbs." He told us reluctantly. _Now I was really mad._

"What made you think that letting Ari back in was a good idea. I'm sure you could have found someone else!" I practically screeched at the FBI agent, effectively losing my cool.

"How do you know Ari?" Fornell asked, giving me a cold glare.

"That's what I was wondering." Tony chimed in. I took a second to glance around and noticed that all four of them were giving me odd looks. I would have thought they hacked into my file by now. I guess not. I took a breath to compose myself.

"We had to collaborate with Mossad for one of my undercover jobs. Ari was part of the group I worked with. Long story short, the mission took a bad turn and I blame Ari for every second of it. We had a disagreement on protocols and some good people got killed for his arrogance." I told them with a blank face. I'd rather not elaborate more than I needed to. Or else I would go on a rant right in the middle of the office. They all seemed to sense that I was done on the subject and we got to working on more important things….. Like finding out where the heck Gibbs was.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At a downtown café, Gibbs walked out holding his staple cup of coffee. He paused a moment as he sensed a certain presence. Without a word Gibbs glanced over to see a man sitting casually at one of the outside tables, his yellow motorcycle helmet perched on top of it. Ari Aswari set down his newspaper and stared back at Gibbs. Slowly the agent walked over and sat down across from the Israeli man, not saying a word.

"Washington is so lovely. Especially this time of year. Don't you agree Special Agent Gibbs?" Ari casually asked as he swirled his cup of tea around. Gibbs just stared back at him icily from his spot.

"Not much of a conversationalist are we?" he quipped, un-phased by the coldness from Gibbs.

"I am mostly waiting here, Ari." Gibbs told him with a slight eye roll.

"Oh for what?" Ari asked with upbeat curiosity in his tone.

"A reason to shoot you again." Gibbs answered easily. Ari gave him a slight smile, still keeping up the façade of ignorance.

"Someone tried to kill my team today. I'm thinking it was you." Gibbs continued.

"You wound me Gibbs. If it was me, they'd be dead already." Ari told him with a devious smirk as he took another sip of his tea.

"You're still coming in with me for questioning." Gibbs told him as he leaned his arm on the table to stare down Ari.

"Unfortunately I've made other arrangements for the evening." Ari countered.

"It wasn't a request."

"I know" Ari told him and leaned forward so he wouldn't be overheard.

"That's why I took the precautionary of planting an explosive device under one of these tables." He informed the agent. Ari looked over Gibbs' shoulder and waved kindly at a family at another table. The little girl smiled back and waved, unaware of the possible danger she was in.

"If you be a good NCIS agent, I might even tell you where." Ari turned back to Gibbs.

"What are you doing here?" Gibbs asked him.

"An Al Qaida cell is planning an attack on Washington and I'm here to stop it." Ari told him while glancing around.

"Yea? What's the target?" Gibbs asked, not fully buying the story.

"I don't know."

"Where's the cell located?"

"I wish I knew." Ari casually played off the questions.

"You're doing a hell of a job for a Mossad double agent." Gibbs complemented him sarcastically.

"I can however gain access to that information. But it comes at a price. One you may not be willing to pay." Ari told him easily, unaffected by Gibb's comment.

"Try me." Gibbs insisted.

"Al Qaida sent me here to conduct my own mission. It's a test. I pass, and I'm allowed into the Washington cell." Ari explained. Gibbs said nothing.

"They want me to kill you." Ari answered the unspoken question. Gibbs still said nothing, just staring at the man in front of him.

"You don't seem surprised." Ari noted.

"It means I'm doing my job." Gibbs told him. Wanting people to kill you was just part of it.

"Yes and in order for me to do mine…..you have to die." Ari countered with a fake apologetic tone.

"I wonder, what would you do in my position?" Ari mused.

"Kill myself." Gibbs immediately answered. Ari laughed at the blatant hate Gibbs was showing. It reminded him of another agent that he had interacted with. She was almost as bad as Gibbs.

"Sadly that's not an option. That's one part of my religion that I won't subscribe to." Ari told him as his laugh quickly died off.

"I could help you out with that." Gibbs suggested smugly.

"A kind offer for sure. I also have one for you." Ari proposed.

"I'm listening." Gibbs told him.

"You have 24 hrs. to find and eliminate the cell. If you fail…" Ari trailed off, knowing that he understood the implications.

"I appreciate the heads up." Gibbs told him.

"It's the least I could do." Ari answered smugly and slowly stood up.

"How's Caitlyn by the way? I have thought of her often since my last visit." Ari quipped, knowing he would hit a nerve. But he didn't stop there.

"And you have a new agent. Claire. Give her my best, I'm sure she'll be glad to hear from me again." He added. Gibbs had looked up her file and knew about all that happened. He didn't have to get her part of the story to know that Ari was on her hit list.

"Go near them, and I don't care what government agency Is watching your back….I will kill you this time." Gibbs told him with a deadly glare on his face. No one touched his team. Ari nodded.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." He responded and picked up his helmet off the table. Ari calmly made his way over to his bike that was parked on the other side of the fence.

"Where's the device?" Gibbs called out.

"Oh…I almost forgot. I lied, there is none." Ari told him before covering his face with the visor of his helmet and driving off into the night. Gibbs stood and watched him ride out of sight before he turned back and analyzed the tables around him. He could see through all of Ari's bull and knew there was still a device. He would never pass up a chance to kill Gibbs. The agent peered down at the table he was sitting at and on a hunch leaned down to look under it. There he found a bomb that was ticking away with 30 seconds left. Immediately he ripped the device off and sprinted down into some abandoned alleyways. He glanced down to see 6 seconds left. With a burst of speed, he ran and threw the bomb into a large dumpster before turning for cover. Almost immediately the bomb went off and Gibbs dove for the ground, covering his head reflexively.

 **Tony's POV:**

"…please call me back." I finished and hung up the phone. Gibbs has been gone for too long and with Ari on the loose, who knew what could happen.

"That's 20 messages I left, we should look for him McGee." I insisted worriedly.

"Look for who?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the bullpen casually. McGee, Claire and I lept out of our seats and walked towards his desk.

"We've been calling you for the last hour boss." Claire scolded. She was on edge about the situation too.

"Well yea, my ringer thing got turned off." Gibbs told her as he set his cell on the desk. I shot an annoyed look at McGee. Of course, it was something dumb like that.

"You're never going to believe who's back in town." I tentatively informed. Might as well let him know now.

"Ari." Gibbs answered easily.

"Ok maybe you will." I muttered in confusion.

"Fornell said that he's…he's here to…" McGee started.

"Kill me." Gibbs answered for him too. The three of us looked down at Gibbs questioningly.

"I know, I just had coffee with him. "Gibbs told us as if it was something he did every day. We continued to stare in slight shock, still unsure of what to make of the whole situation. Surely he was going to elaborate on that. Or not, judging by his silence.

"So….what happened?" I started, hoping for the explanation. Gibbs looked up to shoot me a sarcastic glance.

"He tried to kill me." Gibbs told him in a 'duh' tone. Claire and I glanced at each other. _Was that it?_

"Have we found out what Westfall was doing in Aberdeen yet?" Gibbs asked, apparently done with the topic.

"Uh boss aren't you going to elaborate a little bit first?" McGee suggested.

"Well yea McGee, I'm alive. Now tell me about Westfall." Gibbs argued irritably. Guess the meeting didn't go well.

"Uh…well he was only attached to Aberdeen. He was actually working with a separate contractor out in Maryland, Danmore Avionics." Claire told him, still stunned at how calm Gibbs was about the whole almost killed thing.

"Doing what?" Gibbs asked.

"Testing field service modules or something like that. I have no idea." I answered with a 'who knows' tone. I mean really, I don't know anything about all that technical stuff.

"FBI sent a team over to investigate their security." I continued.

"The FBI?" Gibbs asked.

"A lot has happened in the last hour boss." Claire told him matter of factly.

"Where's Fornell?" Gibbs pressed.

"MTAC" I answered. Gibbs stood up with a sigh.

"Make the ringer thing work." Gibbs ordered McGee as he tossed the cell to him and walked up the stairs. We all stood there a moment, making sure he was all the way upstairs before we dared to talk again.

"Is it me or did he take the whole Ari situation really well?" McGee quickly asked us. I nodded in agreement and smacked my lips.

"I would say he's looking forward to it." I suggested. _That had to be the explanation._

"Looking forward to what?" McGee asked nervously.

"Finally getting to kill him." I told him easily.

"Not if I get to him first." Claire muttered before walking back over to her desk.

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs had been told to sit out on this case and to let the FBI handle Ari. Kate was put in charge of Gibb's protection. Was he going to hate this…..most definitely but it was in his best interest so all of us were on board with it. It was kinda amusing to watch Kate get into her zone, since this is what she was specially trained for.

"In his home, two teams 6 hour shifts, alternating every ten minutes." Kate rambled on, going over the protection detail schedule with Tony, McGee and I who were standing around her desk.

"Outside I want a mobile foot patrol and two observation posts." She continued.

"Gibbs is not going to like that." Tony told her with a warning look.

"Well screw what he likes, Tony. I'm not going to let that psycho get within 5 miles of Gibbs." She sternly told him, making me smile.

"McGee I need full audio and video surveillance inside and out. I need it all to tie back to MTAC." She continued on.

"You got it Kate." McGee nodded.

"Go home, its late." Gibbs told his us as he walked into the bullpen. Like that was going to happen. Even if I wanted to sleep, Kate would murder me first.

"Gibbs, I don't think we're going to be going home." I corrected.

"I'm sleeping here. I do not need an army of agents staying up all night watching me build a boat." Gibbs told me as he pulled out a blanket from one of his file drawers. He sat down at his desk, ignoring the stares from the four of us. Gibbs was too important to all of us so there was no way we were letting him be alone when some psycho was trying to kill him.

"You won't leave the building?" Kate asked him knowingly.

"If I do I'll call you." Gibbs assured her. Kate just narrowed her eyes at him. Gibbs wouldn't willingly call anyone on his phone, let alone along to tell Kate that he's going out. None of us moved from our spots.

"Go, go home. Get some sleep." Gibbs waved us off insistently.

"First thing in the morning we're going to check out Danmore Avionics and find out what the FBI missed." He told them. All four of us continued staring him down skeptically.

"Go." He urged again with a wave of his hand. We all glanced around at each other in silent conversation.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

That night everything was dark and quiet as the building was closed for the night. Gibbs sat at his desk, scouring through all the crime scene photos. After a few minutes, he got up to stretch his legs. He smiled thoughtfully at McGee who was wrapped up in a blanket and asleep in his chair. Next he walked over and looked down at the two lounging behind Tony's desk. Tony and Claire were watching a movie on his computer when they both dozed off. Claire's head was leaning on his shoulder while Tony's head was lying comfortably on top of hers. The two were a bit comical with their feet propped up on his desk, the computer monitor between them. He held back a chuckle at their predicament and the content smiles on their faces. At least Tony had one when he wasn't letting out a snore. Gibbs wasn't stupid or blind. He knew that they liked each other more than simple friends. The two idiots would take forever and year to ever admit it, especially Tony, he was dense when it came to women. Finally, Gibbs walked over towards Kate who was curled up on the floor behind her desk, fast asleep. He knelt beside her and gently pulled her coat over her shoulders as a blanket. They all wanted to stay with Gibbs to make sure he remained safe. They were all a family and even though Gibbs was indifferent when they were around, he truly did care for them. And they all cared or him just as much. Once he had checked up on all his agents he strolled over to look out through the giant window by their office space, just pondering about everything that had happened.

 **Claire's POV:**

The next morning, I was stirred from my peaceful sleep by someone moving underneath me. _Wait I stayed the night at the office. So why was there someone under me. Tony and I were watching a movie and then…..Tony….oh crap._ My eyes immediately snapped open and I glanced over at what had been moving. It was Tony. I fell asleep on his shoulder. _Calm down…not a big deal right? I mean we used to do this all the time, so it's nothing to freak out about. Yet my heart is still going a hundred miles an hour. Oh god I hope he can't feel it or hear it beating out of my chest, that would be so embarrassing. Well so much for not being a bid deal. Of course it's a big deal! I just fell asleep with the guy I like. Keep it together, Claire!_ I took a moment to calm the internal battle that I had going on in my head. Tony wasn't going to think anything of it so I should act like it wasn't a big deal. That would tip him off and I wasn't ready for the emotional confrontation just yet…..or ever for that matter. Thankfully he was still asleep, at least that's what I assumed from the light snore in my ear. I started to shift a little so I could make my way out from under his head. Not that I totally noticed how we fit together almost perfectly, which made me smile a little inside. Tony slept like a rock anyway so the chances of me waking him up by my movement was small. Finally, I was able to wiggle myself out from under him. However, with the removal of my head for his pillow his head jerked forward and woke him up abruptly. I muffled a giggle as I watched him spaz out and flail around for a moment as he woke up. The noise directed his attention over towards me and my heart fluttered a bit at the lazy smile he shot me.

"Mornin' "he mumbled out while stretching his back.

"Morning sleeping beauty." I joked, gesturing to his bed head. Tony glared at me sleepily.

"You're one to talk." He pointed out. My smile dropped and I quickly ran a hand through my messy hair.

"I guess we fell asleep during the movie." Tony told me as he clicked on the computer screen indicating that the movie was over. It was over a long time ago. I don't think we made it very far into it anyway.

"It was my favorite part too." He whined childishly. I let out another giggle.

"Don't worry Tony, it's not like we haven't seen it a hundred times already." I pointed out. Tony threw me an offended look.

"It was a classic and one can never watch the classics too many times." He told me pointedly. I just nodded along in amusement. We both laughed a little and glanced around the room. Gibb's stuff was still here but knowing him, he's been up for hours and showering or something right about now. McGee was also gone, hopefully to get some coffee. Lord knows I'm gonna need that to get through the day. The only other person left in the office was Kate, who was curled up on the floor behind her desk. I noticed that she was fidgeting around in her sleep, almost as if she was having a bad dream. Sharing a look with Tony, we made our way over to wake her up. I knelt down next to her and started shaking her shoulder gently. Kate jerked awake.

"Gibbs" we heard her whispered urgently. Kate quickly stood up to look over at his empty desk while Tony and I shared a surprised look.

"You dream about Gibbs?" Tony asked.

"What?" she asked, still a little out of it. I watched as it took her a second she processed what he had said. Kate wasn't exactly very alert first thing in the morning. A few nights of sleepovers and all night drinking dates with her and Abby can attest to that.

"No, god no." she told him as she flattened down her bed head.

"You said his name." I pointed out.

"No I didn't." she countered.

"Yes you did." I told her. Kate stared at me a moment before looking back at Gibb's desk. She still wasn't fully awake and was slow to process things, which made it funny.

"What's going on?" McGee asked holding four coffees in his hand.

"Kate dreams about Gibbs." Tony told him easily. McGee blinked.

"Oh, what was it about?" he asked in amusement. Gibbs walked into the bullpen with a white t-shirt instead of his usual work shirt. Perfectly fine like I knew he would be. I smiled a little as I saw Kate relax once she saw him.

"No I didn't dream about Gibbs." Kate told them adamantly, now that she understood what was being implied.

"She screamed his name." Tony told McGee. McGee's eyes widened and his mouth twisted into a smirk.

"Really?" he marveled. Tony shook his head hastily, while I eagerly reached for my coffee. Kate rolled her eyes at the three of us and walked over to Gibbs as he pulled out a sweater to put on.

"Look if you want to check out the defense contract with us today, you're wearing a vest." She ordered and handed him a bulletproof vest. Gibbs looked at her for a moment and reluctantly pulled his sweater back off so he could strap the vest on underneath.

"I can live with that." He told her.

"That's kind of the point Gibbs." I told him with a smirk. Gibbs shook his head at me and the rest of us started to get ourselves ready for work.


	26. Chapter 26

[Twilight 3] Season 2 finale 

**3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Within a few hours the team arrived at the defense company to check out what the FBI probably missed.

"Lt. Westfall was the liaison for Danmore's airborne and modular UAV project. As I told the FBI, I really doubt his murder had anything to do with it." The manager, Mr. Overly, told the team as he led them to a room.

"Modular UAV?" Tony asked.

"It's an unmanned airborne vehicle that we're developing with the navy. It can be reconfigured for different missions in the field." He explained.

"What kind of missions?" Gibbs asked.

"Reconnaissance….uh nuclear and biological agent testing….um ground attack." The man listed off.

"So it can be used as a weapon?" Claire asked in clarification.

"Yes ma'am but it's only the prototype." He assured.

"Oh and before you asked, we changed all our security codes and removed Westfall from the database last night." He informed the agents before using his ID to access the room. Once the door was open he gestured for them to follow him inside.

"Any chance one of your modular UAV's is missing?" Tony asked as they looked around the room at all the prototypes being worked on.

"Nope, we only have one and that's her in the hangar." The man assured as he pointed to the larger plane. Gibbs glanced around and noticed some smaller shaped planes near them.

"What are these?" he asked.

"Scale models we use in wind tunnel tests." He answered. Tony found the camera on the nose of the plane and peered up at it curiously before glancing over at his face in the screen next to him. Claire watched him and let out a quiet giggle at his comical expression. Tony beamed over at her and continued playing with the camera like a child.

"Any chance any of your security systems rely on fingerprint of hand scanning technologies? Mr. Overly" Kate asked.

"Why?" he immediately asked.

"Lt. Westfall was missing his hands." McGee informed him.

"Someone hacked them off." Tony added as he finally stood up and away from the camera. Mr. Overly glanced at them hesitantly.

"Uh the FBI didn't mention that." He explained. Gibbs however noticed a sheet covering something in the section behind them and went to investigate.

"Yea, well we did so what's the answer?" Claire countered.

"Our radio flight control systems use biometrics. Only pilots entered into the system can fly them." Mr. Overly answered.

"Like Westfall?" Kate asked.

"Yes. But we only have one flyable UAV and that's it." Mr. Overly insisted.

"What about these?" Gibbs asked. he had taken off the sheet and was looking at some orange missiles.

"Those are target drones." Mr. Overly answered as he walked over to him. The team followed behind.

"Danmore Avionics stopped making them in the 1970's. They're relics. They're not operational." The man told Gibbs.

"It looks like one's missing." Gibbs pointed out as he stood in the very vacant spot between the two drones.

"Well it was uh…it was probably moved." Mr. Overly suggested as he glanced around in confusion. He was trying to convince himself that everything was fine. However, the team knew otherwise.

"Where?" Gibbs asked sternly.

"Sometimes we use them for spare parts." The manager informed. The team stared at the man intently, already knowing what happened.

"It's not possible." Mr. Overly denied, picking up on what they were implying.

"I mean you need a team of engineers to get one of these heaps into flying shape." He continued. The agents knew someone who would have exactly that.

"Not to mention you need a radio flight control." He added.

"I'll bet Lt. Westfall's is missing." Claire pointed out. That's why his hands were missing. And they all knew of a group that would have all of this.

 **Kate's POV:**

Back at NCIS in Abby's lab Gibbs, Claire, and I were looking at the drone plans from Danmore Avionics.

"According to these schematics the drone is pretty outdated from a tech perspective Gibbs." Abby told him as she put up the blueprints on the screen.

"So is a hand grenade." Gibbs countered.

"Excellent point." Abby nodded.

"The Danmore TX Bravo is a nucleated, jet propelled RC plane. Meaning that its manually controlled by a radio transmitter." Abby explained.

"The transmitter they stole was from a modern UAV. So they might not be able to fly it." I suggested.

"True, but Danmore's flight codes are based on original software. So a few tweaks…" she began but Gibbs cut her off.

"What's the range?" he asked.

"40 miles, unless the load it down with explosives." Abby told him as he walked around to stand beside her.

"Oh they will." Claire assured.

"The payload will have to be small Gibbs, 25 pounds or less if they want to get it off the ground." Abby told him as she analyzed the blueprints.

"You're gonna have to get a lot of bank for your buck." She added.

"It means you're going after a soft target Abs." Gibbs told her.

"Soft target?" she asked in confusion.

"People." I clarified. Claire and I shared a worried look. It was always a heavy feeling when you know innocent people were at risk as opposed to some technology.

"Oh…" she realized.

"Any way to stop it if its launched?" Gibbs asked.

"It wouldn't be hard to destabilize the system; I have the operational frequency. Another controller could probably jam it." She told him.

"Get me that controller." Gibbs told her and started to walk off.

"But Gibbs there's a catch." Abby added, getting the man's attention.

"You'd have to be within a 40-mile radius to jam it." She told him. Gibbs squinted in thought before walking out the door. Claire and I started to follow after but Abby stopped us.

"Hey, I had a weird dream about Tony last night." Abby told us nervously. Claire gave her an odd look.

"Ew, not the one where the two of you were at the zoo?" I asked with a grimace. Abby shook her head.

"Oh no, he's fully clothed in this one." She assured.

"You have dreams about a naked Tony?" Claire asked in surprise. Abby grimaced a little.

"Sorry I didn't want to tell you with how you feel about him and everything. I promise it doesn't mean anything!" Abby quickly apologized, thinking she had offended Claire.

"It's fine Abby, it's not like you can control your subconscious." She brushed off. Ever since her vent session after Tony's episode she didn't really like talking about her feelings for Tony.

"But the dream I had… he had blood all over his face. I woke up crying guys, I never cry. Never ever ever." Abby told us with concern written all over her face. Claire's face scrunched up, obviously not liking that mental picture. Frankly, I didn't either.

"Hey it was just a dream." I assured and patted her shoulder in comfort.

"I got to go." Claire told her before walking out. As we walked over to the elevator I noticed that Claire still had a bothered expression.

"Hey you know he's going to be fine right?" I told her as I watched her fret. Claire looked over at me nervously.

"I know he'll be fine. I just don't like thinking about the thought of that. Especially not now." She confided. I let out an internal sigh.

"On that topic I still think you need to tell him." I told her honestly. She shot me a 'no way' look.

"No, there's a lot of other things going on right now. Neither of us need that on our plate. Besides, he is too busy chasing after anything in a skirt to think about me that way." She dismissed. I tried not to roll my eyes. How dense were these two? The sexual tension was suffocating sometimes.

"Oh come on. You two are so infatuated with each other it's disgusting. Besides you'll never know until you say something. We both know Tony isn't the brightest when it comes to relationships." I joked, trying to ease the tension. Claire laughed a little and relaxed. I knew I couldn't flat out tell her that Tony was definitely thinking about it because I already promised that I wouldn't. _But there's nothing wrong with dropping some hints, right?_

"Maybe one day." She brushed off. Like that was going to happen. I knew by her posture that she wasn't comfortable talking about this anymore so I let it drop.

"Just think about it ok? I know nobody likes to think about it, but in our line of work we never know what the day holds." I told her, leaving her with something to think about.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Up in the bullpen Tony and McGee were watching the security feed of when the drone was stolen. A couple men in dark clothing were seen pushing the large drone out of its spot but not much else could be seen.

"What have we got?" Gibbs asked as he walked past them.

"A shot of our drone thieves from Danmore security footage. It's from two nights ago." Tony told him.

"The day the lieutenants were murdered." McGee added. Gibbs stood beside them and stared at the footage.

"Can you ID them?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, they're both wearing ski masks but check this out." Tony used the remote to zoom in on the controls in the back of the shot.

"Maybe I'm paranoid but does that guy look familiar?" Tony asked dryly as he zoomed in on the figure. He had his face slightly hidden by a hat but the definition of his face was known. Gibbs thought back to the last encounter he had with the man.

"You're not paranoid. That bastard is Ari." Gibbs confirmed with a hard voice.

"He's not looking for an Al Qaida cell." Tony commented as he clenched his jaw.

"Hell no, he's running it." Gibbs told them with a growl. Once again the FBI was being stupid.

"Get Fornell in here." Gibbs ordered and stormed out of the bullpen.

"What am I going to tell him?" Tony asked.

"Tell him he's about to make the second biggest mistake of his life." Gibbs told him as he marched up the stairs to the director's office. The two shared a worried look before setting off to work.

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony, Kate, and I made our way into MTAC with Fornell, where Gibbs was waiting.

"My second biggest mistake, Jethro?" Fornell asked as he walked in.

"That's very dramatic. What was the first?" he asked, walking up to Gibbs. The three of us took a seat behind them.

"When you married my second wife." Gibbs told him with a 'duh' tone. I shared a surprised look with Tony.

"Should I have brought some popcorn for this meeting?" I asked him semi-seriously. Tony chuckled a little and we turned back to watch the show.

"You could have warned me." Fornell told him. Gibbs looked at him incredulously.

"I did." He pointed out. Fornell rolled his eyes and turned back to the three of us.

"In my own defense I thought he was exaggerating." He explained. We all smiled in amusement. Wow these two really know how to pick them.

"Where's Ari?" Gibbs asked, getting back to the serious business.

"What part of 'sit this out' don't you get?" Fornell asked in a bored tone.

"The part where he steals a Navy UAV and kills a whole bunch of people with it." Gibbs deadpanned.

"My people checked out Danmore avionics. Their only UAVs are accounted for." Fornell countered. Well maybe he needs to get new people.

"He stole a target drone Fornell." Gibbs told him in exasperation.

"Put the file up." He told one of the technicians. Up on the screen the blueprints of the drone were displayed.

"Pack the nose of that with syntax, he's got a poor man's crude missile." Gibbs explained. Fornell closed his eyes in realization.

"I guess your boys missed it." Tony chimed in. Fornell glanced over at him with his hands on his hips.

"Ari is playing you. He's no double agent, he never has been. Where is he?" Gibbs demanded again. Fornell sighed and took a minute before answering.

"All we've got is an encrypted spook cellphone number." He admitted.

"Call him." Gibbs told him.

"Well you can't contact him from here Gibbs. You need a high level NSA…" Fornell started to explain but Gibbs ignored him.

"Patch us through." Gibbs told the woman manning the board.

"…..we're talking dedicated satellite time." Fornell finished. As he did a man on the screen came up.

"I've got two NSA satellites in range for the next 5 minutes, gunny." The man informed Gibbs. The three of us held back a smile. Gibbs knew all and was always prepared. Fornell smiled wryly at him.

"What's the number?" the man asked. Gibbs shot Fornell an urgent look.

"Are you sure about this?" Fornell quietly asked as he pulled out a card.

"As sure as when I told you she would clean out your bank account when she left." Gibbs told him. Without a word Fornell handed the number to Gibbs who took it over to the board so he could make the call.

"Patching it through now." The man told Gibbs as they waited.

"Are you sure he's going to answer?" the man asked.

"Put my name on his caller ID. He'll answer" Gibbs instructed. After a moment, Ari picked up.

"Special Agent Gibbs, now how did you get this number?" he asked casually.

"I pulled some strings." Gibbs told him.

"Your friend Fornell, I imagine he's there with you." Gibbs stared at Fornell.

"Nope. Nope, I've been thrown off the case." Gibbs lied easily. I grinned in amusement. Maybe I should bring some popcorn next time. Gibbs was fun to watch when he was on a roll. While the call was going, the technicians were furiously working to pinpoint Ari's location.

"It's for the best. I really wasn't looking forward to killing you." Ari told him.

"I wish I could say the same thing Ari. I've resigned from NCIS." Gibbs continued. Fornell smirked.

"I hope it wasn't something I said." Ari told him coyly.

"The next time we meet Ari, will be the last time." Gibbs assured.

"There won't be anybody to stop me." Gibbs told him seriously. He watched as the teams got the location of the call.

"I am honored, I had no idea you were in such a….." Ari continued but Gibbs abruptly cut off the call. Serves him right. Now that we had what we needed, we were ready to head out and nab the bastard.

"He's at a cellphone grid 30 miles out of Norfolk, Newport new area. We've isolated it down to a two block radius." The man informed. Gibbs nodded to us and we immediately rushed out of the room.

...

In Norfolk Gibbs was speeding down the highway. Tony was riding shotgun while Kate, McGee and I were in the back.

"You Know how to work that if we need to jam the drone McGee?" Gibbs asked as Tim fiddled with the controller in his lap. It was basically multiple laptops linked together which didn't help with the lack of space we already had.

"Um well I've got to be honest with you boss, Abby explained it to me but…." McGee started. Gibbs turned around to look at him, leaving the steering wheel unattended. I panicked a little as we felt the car start to veer away from the road. Tony frantically reached over to steady it.

"… I'll figure it out." McGee quickly corrected. Gibbs nodded and turned back to the wheel.

"What's today's date Claire?" Tony asked.

"May 24th" I told him, glancing down at my phone.

"Paula Cassidy's ship gets back from the gulf today. We're hooking up this weekend." Tony told me. I immediately glared at him and tried to hold in the growl. Why did he have to tell me that? I don't even know this woman and I already hate her. Stupid jealousy. I took in a breath and glanced over at Kate, who was wearing a smug smirk. At least someone finds my inner turmoil amusing.

"Well don't you think you should concentrate on the terrorist attack first?" she asked dryly. I smiled back over at her.

"The whole marine amphibious strike team returns today, Kate. Five ships all of them headed to Norfolk." Tony pointed out, looking to Gibbs. My eyes widened in realization.

"Tony, I doubt that a drone filled with explosives could do any damage to a warship." McGee told him as he worked on the laptops.

"The pier will be packed with navy families McGee." I pointed out. My brother was in the Navy so I was well aware of how packed that pier would be.

"Welcoming them home." Tony added knowingly. Gibbs immediately sped up his pace. A hit like that would be catastrophic.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The agents parked the car and got out around the block where the call came from.

"You figure it out?" Gibbs asked, looking over at McGee as everyone secured their headsets.

"I did, the drone is on a one up, three radio frequency. It will take a few minutes to reach them. But once the drone cuts on then it'll go off target." McGee explained. Gibbs huffed in frustration. It sounded long but at least he knew what he was doing.

"It's going to take hours to search these warehouses boss." Tony pointed out as he looked around the street full of them.

"Give me my gun." Gibbs told Kate. She handed him the shot gun and pointed up at a light. Gibbs shot it out and immediately men started shouting and aiming at them from one of the roofs. Gibbs shot down the lookout. Claire raised her brows….That was one way to do it.

"Tony and Claire, take the fire escape. Kate, with me. McGee start jamming." Gibbs ordered as they all took off. Tony quickly scaled the ladder, with Claire on his heels while Kate and Gibbs continued on into the building.

...

Kate and Gibbs made their way into a garage and hit behind an abandoned car. They ducked down at the sound of machine gun fire in their direction. The two of them started shooting against the two terrorists aiming at them. One of them started going across the windows, and Kate had to duck down to avoid the downpour of glass and headlights. She checked her shotgun again before standing up and shooting at the men behind the crates. Gibbs maneuvered over behind a van and joined in the gunfight.

...

Outside McGee looked up to see the drone taking off from the roof of the building.

"Boss they fired the drone." He informed through the headset as he started working even faster.

...

"Jam it McGee." Gibbs ordered as he lead the way up the staircase, following where the remaining shooter ran off too. After he was taken care of they started making their way up to the roof.

...

"I can do this." McGee mumbled nervously. He watched in anticipation as the program started to try and lock onto the drone's signal.

...

Tony reached to top of the escape and slowly peered over the side of the roof. He looked over to see the lookout dead but nothing else. Claire was below him, keeping an eye out for any other shooters.

"One down boss, no visual of anyone else." Tony whispered into his com.

...

"Let's do it." Gibbs ordered. He opened the door to the roof and lead the way, scanning as Kate came up behind him doing the same thing.

Tony hopped onto the roof on his end without any trouble. He waited a moment for Claire to join him. Once she was over the two took off across the roof, Tony watching the front and Claire covering his back.

On the other side a man started shooting and Gibbs had to leap over a barrier for cover. Kate peered around the corner and shot at him, missing.

Tony and Claire started making their way across the raises in the roof, towards the gunfire. The two terrorist started shouting back and forth at each other. Tony peered over a peak and spotted one of them. He quickly shot him, freeing up Kate and Gibbs. They all let out a sigh and started making their way towards the person flying the drone. Before the man could draw his gun he was shot down by Gibbs. Tony and Gibbs ran over towards the controls. Claire and Kate held back to make sure no one else showed up.

"McGee this thing is still flying." Gibbs told him urgently. The drone was getting closer to the port.

"Ok, one freq. down, two to go." McGee informed. Suddenly shots were heard and McGee had to scurry behind the car to avoid getting hit. As the two exchanged fire, the terrorist shot the transmitter.

"Boss he took out my transmitter." He relayed. Gibbs sighed.

"You know how to fly this thing?" Tony asked as they watched the drone get closer on the camera feed.

"No, but I know how to crash it." Gibbs told him. He stood up and started shooting up the keyboard. Sure enough they watched as the drone crashed into the sea.

"McGee are you ok?" Gibbs called out.

"I got one terrorist inside. I don't know if I got him but he stopped shooting." McGee told them.

"Hold your position, we'll flush him out." Gibbs told him.

"Ok" Tim agreed. The four on the roof started to prep their guns.

"I'm out." Gibbs told them.

"Me too." Kate added as she looked at her shotgun. Tony started handing them rounds. A door behind them opened up, letting out almost silent *creak*. Kate glanced over and saw a gun aimed at Gibb's back. Claire followed her line of sight and glanced over at Tony who was equally vulnerable.

"Shooter!" Kate shouted. In an instant, she and leapt in front of Gibb's taking the shot meant for him, while Claire knocked Tony to the ground. Kate hit the ground with a grunt while Claire and Gibbs shot the man. Once the threat was gone they all looked over at her in worry, Kate wasn't moving.

"Kate." Gibbs called as he rushed down to her. Tony looked up at Claire who was holding out her hand for him to take. He quickly hopped up and gave her a frantic once over.

"Are you ok?" he asked as he scanned her form for injuries. Claire swallowed and gave him a nod. Once he was satisfied the two rushed over and Tony gently rolled Kate over onto her back. Seeing her eyes closed Claire felt for a pulse while Gibbs started taking off her jacket. They both let out a sigh of relief when they saw that the bullet hit her bulletproof vest. She was fine.

"You ok?" Tony asked.

"Owwww…" Kate whined.

"I just got shot at point blank range DiNozzo, what do you think?" she asked him sarcastically.

"You're not going to be joining me for Pilates class tomorrow?" Claire asked jokingly. Kate groaned again and winced in pain as they helped her up.

"Protection detail is over Kate." Gibbs told her.

"You did good." Tony pointed out. Gibbs chuckled.

"For once, DiNozzo's right." Gibbs told her. Kate laughed.

"Wow I thought I'd die before I ever heard….." a loud shot cut her off. Tony winced at he felt blood splatter all across his face. In what seemed like slow motion Kate's limp body hit the ground, a red hole in the center of her forehead. Claire stared as Kate lied still on the stone roof, a large pool of blood collecting under her head. Caitlyn Todd was head. Tony unconsciously grabbed Claire and looked over to where the shot had come from seeing no one. Gibb's had his gun up, desperate to kill the bastard that had done this.

"Ari." He whispered out, knowing who the culprit was. Claire stared down at her friend, not even feeling Tony's arm around her shoulders. She didn't pay any attention to the blood that was splattered across her body. All she could process was that Kate was dead. Ari had killed one of her best friends and he was still running around free. Claire sank down next to her friend, taking Tony with her as he continued to hold her. It was a gesture meant to comfort both of them. But Claire remained still as tears ran down her cheeks. NCIS Special Agent Caitlyn Todd, was dead.


	27. Chapter 27

[Aftermath]

 **3rd Person POV:**

The three of them stared blankly, hoping, praying that it was all just a bad dream. After a moment Claire snapped out of it. It wasn't a dream; this nightmare was her reality. Kate was dead. Claire suddenly felt the pressure of Tony's arm around her. All she wanted to do was break down and curl into his embrace, but she couldn't. Right now, she had another crime scene to take care of and there was no way she was going to have anything mess this up. She owed it to Kate. Claire composed herself, wiping away the stray tears and stood up. She didn't notice that Tony's eyes followed her with a hurt expression.

"What now, Gibbs?" she asked, struggling to keep her composer. Gibbs looked at her in a dazed fashion. She wasn't the only one having a hard time absorbing what had just happened.

"I'll call Ducky. You, Tony, and McGee make sure the area is clear and search for Ari's position." He told her, not looking up. Claire nodded and immediately took off towards the door. Tony followed, watching her closely. Without a word, they started making their way down the stairs, guns at the ready to shoot down any threat. And Claire was more than willing to have some target practice. Tony trailed quietly behind her, scanning the warehouse but also analyzing her actions. She was aggressive and cold which was very unlike her. Once they made it to the bottom level Claire stashed her gun in her jacket, but remained silent as she marched her way towards the door. Tony couldn't stand it anymore. He reached out and grabbed her arm, swinging her around to face him. Her hardened stare bore into him as he searched her face to get a feel on how she was going to react. Her sudden coldness was a new one for him.

"Claire we need to talk about this." He started cautiously. Claire huffed, avoiding his gaze and face. She was hyper aware of the blood splatter that was decorating both of their faces and she struggled to look at it. It was just another reminder of what had just happened.

"No, we need to get to that roof top. We need to get to Ari before he disappears." She protested and tried to pull away but Tony held fast.

"We both now that he's long gone by now." He told her gently. Claire didn't turn her head. She knew he was right. They both stood there in silence for a moment, Tony waiting for her to do something…..anything.

"Claire…..talk to me." Tony finally asked, ducking his head to try and grab her attention. She swallowed and turned to face him, her eyes wavering.

"Not now, we have a job to do." She argued weakly. Tony sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get anything out of her in this state. He reluctantly let go of her arm and nodded. Satisfied, she headed towards the door. Tony following her, both of them putting on indifferent expression just to get through the task ahead of them. When they walked outside McGee was waiting for them, a nervous expression on his features.

"So Kates?..." he trailed off as he saw the two stoic expressions. Nobody had said it out loud for him to hear over the headset, but he wanted to confirm that gut feeling.

"She's dead." Claire told him, softening her tone a little. McGee swallowed thickly. He couldn't imagine how they felt since they saw it happen. The group stared at each other for a moment, all of them trying to get back to a sense of normalcy. Tony stepped up.

"Ok, let's set up a search on those buildings over there." Tony gestured to the warehouses in the distance. Claire and McGee nodded and the three headed off, desperately trying to ignore the sound of sirens heading their way. Claire glanced up a she noticed the sky begin to darken. It looked like a storm was coming. She couldn't help but bitterly muse at how fitting it was for the current mood.

Hours later they had set up a laser system to determine where the shot came from. As they started to walk over towards the building, the heavens finally opened and the rain started to pour down on the agents. They all walked on, their hats covering their eyes. This weather wasn't going to deter them from giving their teammate, their family, the justice she deserved. Claire could feel her clothes sticking to her body as they finally made it to the door of the warehouse where the shots were thought to have come from. Kicking it in McGee and Tony took the lead, guns raised while she trailed behind to cover their backs. The building was empty, not even a sign of anyone having been there. They spotted a service elevator off to the side and too emotionally exhausted to take multiple flights of stairs, Claire lead the way towards it. Reaching the top level, the agents walked in silence out onto the roof. The rain continued to pour down on the team as they urgently scanned the surface for any sign of Ari. Claire walked over to a ledge, where she had a perfect view of the rooftop where the murder happened. It was a perfect setup. She swallowed her painful thoughts and glanced around her. Something gold caught her eye and she leaned down to get a better look at it. Bullet casings.

"I've found it!" she called out reaching into her jacket to pull out some evidence containers. Tony and McGee hurried over to her and started helping. Ari hadn't cleaned up his mess which was good news for them. She thought it was odd that there was more than one casing but didn't dwell on it. This was just one step closer to closure for Kate's death. That's all she could ask for right now. Tony and McGee stood up, knowing that there wasn't anything else to be found. Ari wouldn't leave much behind. However, they also noticed that Claire wasn't leaving. Tony sighed, knowing that she wouldn't stop. She was hurting.

"You go ahead Probie, we'll meet you down at the car." Tony mumbled to Tim. McGee nodded in understanding and headed back into the warehouse with one last glance back at his teamates. Tony squinted as he glanced up at the rain that was still pouring down, no sign of it stopping anytime soon.

"Are you trying to catch pneumonia or something?" Tony weakly joked, trying to lighten her mood. Claire glanced over at him blankly but didn't stop her searching.

"Just trying to do my job Tony." She answered hollowly. Tony put his hands on his hips, knowing that this wasn't going to be easy.

"Claire, there's nothing else here. Let's head back to the office." He walked over to where she was kneeling. Claire stubbornly shook her head, not trusting her voice. She had to find something else, anything else. If she went back to the office, then it would become even more official. She just couldn't face it right now.

"Claire, stop." Tony gently pulled her up, holding her shoulders carefully. She couldn't look him in the eye for fear that she would break down. His expression softened. Without another word, he pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms securely around her. Claire stiffened in defiance for a moment but her emotions won out and she returned the gesture, burying her face into the crook of his neck. She desperately tried to keep her tears back, momentarily thankful that the rain would cover up any that leaked out. Tony remained silent and repositioned his head to lean on top of hers. Neither one of them spoke as the rain continued to soak them both.

"I'm scared Tony." Claire eventually mumbled out. Tony leaned his head closer to her so he could hear better. He didn't say anything knowing the second he did, she would close back up again.

"I don't want to go back and see her empty desk. It will just confirm everything. I don't know if I can handle that. I need to stay strong for her, Tony. She needs us to do our job without any emotions getting in the way." Claire confessed, just taking the moment to vent. Tony closed his eyes, holding her tighter against him to keep out the cold chill that was setting in.

"I know, but it'll be ok. We'll do our jobs, get that bastard back, and then we can properly mourn after all of this is over. OK?" Tony told her, tilting his head down to look at her face. Claire nodded and took in another deep breath. They could cry later. Right now, Kate needed them to have a clear head. Tony smiled down at her and Claire returned it tightly.

"Now let's get out of the rain. You look like a drowned rat." Tony quipped. Claire rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the small smile that broke out across her face. She still had Tony and the rest of her team. They would make it through this. Without another word the two of them headed over towards the door and made their way down to meet McGee at the car.


	28. Chapter 28

[Kill Ari 1: 1]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Ducky walked into the dark autopsy room feeling the weight of the job he had to do. With a sorrowful expression, he walked over to the body bag that was on his table. As he opened the bag and turned the light on, tears came to his eyes when he looked down at the corpse. Ducky wiped his eyes and glanced back over at Kate, who lay still on the table. Her face was already pale, emphasizing the bullet hole in the center of her forehead. This was by far one of the hardest things he ever had to do. Strangers were one thing, but working on a friend was another.

"Oh Caitlyn….I am so sorry." He whispered brokenly. This time Kate didn't answer.

...

In the bullpen, the rain was coming down hard outside, syncing up with the tearful mood of the office. Gibbs sat at his desk and stared out the window at the drops making their way down the window panes. He tore his eyes away only to stare at the now vacant chair and rubbed his mouth in hard thought, eyes getting glassy.

 ** _**"Why me Gibbs?" Kate's voice rang out in the silence of his mind. Gibbs glanced up to see Kate in the tactical gear she had when she died…a bullet hole in the center of her forehead. She glared at him._**

 ** _"Wasn't stopping one bullet enough for you?" she harshly questioned, gesturing to the bullet in her vest. Gibbs stared at her sorrowfully._**

 ** _"Why did I have to take two?" she asked, her voice breaking near the end. Gibbs shook his head in confusion and leaned his head on his hand._**

 ** _"I don't know." He murmured, staring down at his desk. He was at a loss for answers on this one._**

 ** _"You don't know?" she was now leaning on his desk to look at him in the eye._**

 ** _"You don't know what Gibbs? What's that famous gut tell you?" she asked, a little gentler than before. Gibbs didn't answer._**

 ** _"Why did I die instead of you?!" she pleaded. **_**

In that instant, she was gone. Gibbs looked around at the empty and silent office space. These questions haunting him. Ari was after him, so why was she the casualty? The elevator opened to reveal Claire, McGee and Tony who all rushed over.

 **Claire's POV:**

"Found Ari's snipers nest boss." Tony told Gibbs, pulling out the evidence we had found.

"On an abandoned office area to the East." McGee added as Tony handed Gibbs the bag.

"He didn't police his brass." I continued in a quiet voice. _This fact bothered me. Ari was very meticulous and cautious. Why would he just leave the only evidence of his presence for us to find?_ Gibbs glanced up and stared at the shell casings that were in Tony's evidence bag. He quickly walked around his desk and started examining them under the desk lamp.

"They're Lapua 308's." McGee told him. Tony shot him a look from behind Gibbs back.

"But I didn't mean that you wouldn't see that boss." McGee amended sympathetically. Gibbs looked at him and shrugged.

"I can't without my glasses." He admitted and looked back at the casings. McGee stared at him in shock. The normal Gibbs would never admit that. He was acting a bit odd, but that's understandable right now.

"Lapua match grade sniper rifle." Gibbs told us, as he continued his examination. Tony and I glanced at each other questioningly. He was being fairly calm and quiet about this. It was unsettling.

"Did you guys find any bullets?" Gibbs asked as he moved to look under a different lighting over by Tony's desk.

"Uh, none that match the casings. We have three guys on the roof searching." Tony told him. Gibbs didn't answer so naturally we took that as a bad thing.

"The three of us will go back to the roof boss." Tony quickly told him. Gibbs turned back towards him and Tony braced himself for the head slap. But it never came.

"Tony, you're soaking wet." Gibbs gently pointed out. We all gave him an odd stare.

"Go put some dry clothes on." Gibbs told us and patted Tony's back. Tony, McGee, and I gave each other another worried glance as we watched Gibbs go stand by the window. He was just getting weirder and weirder.

"Ari's rooftop wasn't much higher than ours." Gibbs told us and let out a labored breath, obviously thinking back to how everything went down. I could see the thoughts running through his mind as he though back.

"The rooflines behind us were lower. No telling how far a full metal jacketed bullet would go." Gibbs muttered as he thought through all the schematics and trajectories.

"….after killing Kate.." he tacked on quietly. I swallowed thickly as Tony froze and glared at the ground. It never gets easier to hear. McGee walked up behind us, now out of his wet jacket.

"How does he know it was a full metal jacket?" Tim asked us. Tony swallowed but didn't look up. I was hoping that he would be able to explain, I just couldn't relive it right now.

"You didn't see Kate." I guessed quietly. If he had seen her, it would have been fairly obvious.

"Well I didn't want to." Tim admitted. I could understand that. Tony took in a deep breath and tilted his head up a little, but his eyes still didn't leave the ground.

"Her head was intact." Tony told him.

"So, she didn't look bad?" McGee asked tentatively. At this Tony looked over at McGee, a new coldness on his face.

"No, no not all Probie." Tony spit out, glaring with a pained emotion behind his eyes.

"In fact a little more color and a little putty right here.." he touched the center of McGee's forehead.

"And she'll be good as new." Tony quipped agressively. McGee bit the inside of his lip. He was holding up about as well as I would expect. No one wants to hear the gritty details of your friend's death.

"Of course she was having a bad hair day though. Right back here. Of course a full metal jacket would put a whole the size of a grapefruit right about there…" Tony smacked the back of McGee's head, his expression getting angrier and more hurt with every word.

"Tony..." I eventually choked out, making him stop. I needed him to stop, and by McGee's expression I wasn't the only one. Tony's lips trembled a little and he glanced down at me. I had unconsciously latched onto his arm tightly and was staring up at him; begging him to stop reliving the scene. Tim swallowed thickly before looking back at Tony from his other side.

"Please." He quietly begged. He knew it hurt Tony to talk about it and it hurt him even more to hear about it.

"I'm sorry Tim." Tony apologized and clapped him on the shoulder. Tony didn't apologize to me out loud but he didn't need to. He gently slid my hand off his arm and instead intertwined our fingers, giving my hand a comforting squeeze. I smiled tightly at him. He knew that sometimes I couldn't deal with all the words.

"Three rounds and only one hit?" Gibbs called out, bringing us back into focus. _That was a good point. Why would he need 3 bullets?_

"Well he must have popped off a couple of rounds while you were weaving across the roof." Tony suggested.

"I was standing still when Kate was shot." Gibbs pointed out.

"McGee lazered the distance at nearly 600 meters." Tony added.

"572" McGee corrected. Tony glared at him and let out a loud huff of air through his nose. Now was not the time to be nitpicky.

"A slight shift in the wind. He missed you, he hits Kate." Tony added, trying to keep his emotions in check. McGee shot me a grimace, knowing he was the cause of Tony's mood change. I thought back to the sights on the roof, going through everything I saw and heard. _I remembered a flag…..it wasn't moving….there was no wind._

"There was no wind." I told them, looking up in realization.

"Well what are you saying? That he was aiming at Kate?" Tony asked as Gibbs walked back over to join us.

"You're the one he wants to kill." he added when Gibbs didn't answer.

"Ari had a thing for Kate." McGee commented as Gibbs looked at the remote box that was on McGee's desk.

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked in surprise.

"She told me he was always coming on to her. In autopsy when he..he..kidnapped her and let her go." I explained, thinking back. Tony seemed a bit put off at this information.

"She never told me that." he whispered in disappointment.

"Gee what a surprise." McGee quipped so quietly that I almost didn't catch it. I looked over at him in surprise. Tim wasn't usually so malicious.

"What?!" Tony demanded, walking closer to him. Tony smacked him on the back of the head, making McGee whip around in annoyance. I however ended up in between them, trying to make sure they didn't kill each other. At this point, anything was possible.

"Don't do that Tony." Gibbs scolded, not looking away from the desk. He continued staring at the bullet hole that had taken the controller out.

"When was this hit Tim?" Gibbs asked, analyzing the bullet damage. McGee thought for a moment and took a couple steps closer.

"When I was pinned down." He answered. Gibbs looked at him in thought.

"Ari had a shot at it?" he asked. McGee scrunched his face up in deep thought.

"Our car was between the terrorist and the controller, there's no way he could have hit it." He told us in realization. It wasn't the terrorist that was shooting at the controller after all. Gibbs nodded in thought and sat down in McGee's chair to look through the damage.

"Boss I'm…I'm sorry I should have realized it was Ari." He apologized, the guilt evident on his face.

"Why didn't he pop McGee?" Tony asked seriously. I glared at him and smacked his shoulder. How could he be so insensitive.

"Oh thanks Tony." McGee said sarcastically as he turned to look at him.

"I'm just saying that you're a sizable target, the controller isn't." Tony pointed out icily.

"Boys.." I tried to calm them down, but they were just talking over me like I didn't exist.

"Oh so you're saying I'm fat?" McGee countered irritably.

"No…" I quickly assured. However, Tony continued being an ass.

"Well maybe a little around the waist and the chin." Tony teased, a little more aggressive than his usual joking. McGee glared at him.

"Hey both of you cut it out." I growled, glaring at the two of them. They both turned to looked at me, guiltily.

"He didn't have an angle on Tim." Gibbs answered calmly as he continued looking at the controller.

"Well, you owe that shooter from the warehouse a thank you. He saved your life." Tony pointed out, McGee's face filling with guilt and confusion. I reached over and rubbed his shoulder soothingly. It wasn't his fault.

"The bullet entered here and it ricocheted into the car." Gibbs told us.

"I'll get right on it." McGee told him.

"Abby should be in by now." Gibbs informed as he looked down at his watch. Poor Abby, I bet she's taking this really hard.

"See what she can pull off that brass." Gibbs instructed, handing the shells back to Tony. Gibbs walked over to his desk and just stood there looking around like he had lost something. Tony, McGee, and I watched him carefully, never having seen this behavior before. Gibbs scratched his head in a jittery fashion before heading to walking out.

"I'm going for coffee." He told us as he was leaving but stopped and backtracked to stand in front of us.

"Can I get you all something?" he asked, looking between all of us. We all froze, staring at him worriedly. This was definitely worrisome behavior. _Gibbs asking for our coffee orders?!_ Eventually we were able to mutter out 'no's. None of us were overly sure how to handle the situation. Gibbs nodded in acceptance and walked away.

"That's a first." Tony muttered once Gibbs was gone. McGee blinked in shock.

"He called me Tim." He realized.

"He pat my back." Tony added.

"He was kinda nice." I continued. Tony lifted his brow in shock.

"Nice?...I don't want nice. He's not Gibbs if he's nice." Tony looked over at me before heading towards the elevator. I sighed and glanced back at Tim. He was already buried in his work so I decided to follow Tony and go check up on Abby.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In autopsy Abby stared brokenly at the drawing Kate had made of her. It was a cartoon sketch of a bat with Abby's face. It was her favorite. Her lab was quiet…no music was blasting through the speakers and Abby's hair was bunched up between her fingers.

 ****** ** _Off to the side a version of Kate appeared. This time she had long blonde hair with bangs, sporting a long black dress….similar to a vampire._**

 ** _"You're a mess girl." She tutted, looking over at Abby, a hand on her popped hip._**

 ** _"Red eyes, no makeup. If ever there was a time for black lipstick, it's now." She continued. Abby smiled wryly and wiped away a stray tear. Taking Kate's advice, she reached over and pulled out her tube of black lipstick. She looked up at the reflection in the monitor and started putting it on. Kate walked up behind her and looked at her in the monitor._**

 ** _"Remember when we first met?" Kate asked with a wide smile. Abby hummed in amusement while Kate laughed._**

 ** _"I couldn't believe you were a forensic scientist…..I thought goths had bats for pets or vice versa." She joked, walking around to Abby's other side. Abby sniffed, staring at the picture again._**

 ** _"I really liked you Kate. A lot." She finally spoke, her voice thick with emotion. Kate shook her head sympathetically._**

 ** _"Don't start that again. Where are your pigtails? I love you in pigtails." Kate told her. Abby smiled again and slowly started pulling her hair up, just the way Kate liked it._**

 ** _"That's better." Kate commented as she watched her._**

 ** _"You were persistent Abs. First the dark lipstick, then the black nail polish. Next thing you know I have a tat on my bum." She chuckled, smiling fondly. Abby smiled and almost laughed. Kate's expression dropped as she realized something._**

 ** _"Oh god….Ducky's going to see it." Kate told her in alarm. The two of them started laughing at the thought._**

 ** _"I'm dead and I'm embarrassed." Kate joked as they continued snickering._** ******

...

Tony and Claire walked in to see Abby quietly laughing in the empty room, half of her hair in a low pigtail. The two glanced at each other in confusion.

"Abby?" He quietly called out. Abby snapped her head over to look at them.

"Hey Tony, Claire." She greeted somewhat brightly.

"You ok?" Claire asked, slowly walking over towards the evidence table. Abby was in a better mood than she would have expected.

"I will be as soon as I tie up my pigtails." She told them with a smile and continued with the task. Tony watched her carefully, having the same train of thought that Claire did.

"There. What can I do for you?" she asked spinning around in her chair to face them. Tony stared at her, a confused smile coming onto his face.

"You're weirder than Gibbs." He told her, referring to both of their odd reactions. It seemed like everyone was off their emotional game that day, which was understandable.

"How so?" she asked curiously. Claire smiled wryly.

"He's being nice." she explained. Abby tilted her head in confusion.

"Gibbs is always nice." She pointed out.

"To you and Ducky maybe. Me….he growls at and smack on the head." Tony amended with a tilt of his head. Abby stood up.

"Which makes you feel wanted." She told him. Tony lifted his brows in amusement but didn't correct her while Claire smirked over at him. She wasn't wrong.

"What do you have for me?" she asked them clenching her hands in preparation. Tony looked at her for a moment before slowly lifting up the bag of shell casings.

"Three .08 casing from Ari's sniper nest." He explained, handing the bag over. Abby huffed as she began labeling the bag.

"You would have to give me the most popular caliber in the world." She told him.

"Yea well I just found them." Claire told her, thinking she was upset. She was trying to tread lightly with what she said around everyone. Any little comment seemed to set everyone off.

"Can you tell what weapon he used?" Tony quickly asked. Abby rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"An .08" She told him with a 'duh' tone.

"What model .08?" he continued. Abby looked at them in confusion.

"You don't know?"

"Would I be asking?" he hastily countered, an edge to his voice. Claire pinched him subtly telling him to lay off while Abby stared at him for a moment.

"Well how am I supposed to know?" she asked.

"Because you're the firearms expert." He pointed out with a 'duh' tone. Abby bit her lip in thought.

"That I am." She agreed. She set the bag down and started to pull on her gloves. Claire stayed silent ansd observed her carefully. She just knew Abby was close to snapping and Tony would be the one to cause it since he couldn't seem to shut up today.

"And when I'm done I will tell you…..the gun, the primer, the propellant, the percentage of nickel and copper in the brass, whether or not all three weapons were fired from the weapon which you _assume_.." Abby ranted, her voice getting louder as she pointed a finger at him. Tony winced as he watched her go on, not interrupting her as she continued, rushing over to her computers.

" …but I will prove or disprove, who manufactured the ammo, the batch number and perhaps where it was sold. I will also will a certain degree of accuracy tell you if it was fired from the lever action, a bolt action, a semi-automatic, or an automatic weapon!" she carried on, forcefully turning on all of her electronics. Claire sighed as she watched her friend let of steam. For once Tony stayed silent, only clenching his jaw as Abby continued ranting and turned to him, stomping towards them.

"….however, there is no way in hell I can tell you which of the 87 different .08 models fired those rounds!" she ended, basically shouting at Tony while he looked forward, jaw clenched and apologetic eyes. He hadn't meant to set her off like that. Tony reached over and flipped the bag over to look at the rounds.

"The rounds are Lapua." Claire told her in a whisper, easing the tension between the two. Abby glared at her in confusion, thrown off by her sudden urge to talk.

"What?!" she asked, flapping her arms in confusion. Claire stared down at the table before looking back at her.

"Lapua made the ammo." she told her meekly.

"The loaders on the rim." Tony added quietly. The three of them stared at each other, their emotions starting to hit hard. Abby was the first to crack.

"Claire, I'm gonna miss her." Abby whimpered tearfully as she latched onto her in a hug. Claire held her tightly, keeping her own tears at bay.

"Me too." She told her. Abby reached over and yanked Tony into the hug with them, knowing that even though he wouldn't say anything, that he needed the comfort too. They stayed like that for a moment, blinking back tears and the emotions that so desperately wanted to bubble up.

...

Gibbs walked through the rain, coffee in hand. As he passed by the window to Abby's lab a bullet whipped past him, shattering the glass. At the sound of a female's shout he took off in a dead sprint, his coffee being left behind on the ground.

 **Claire's POV:**

In the lab, all of us were lying on the floor trying to avoid the shattered glass that was spraying above us from the shot. However, Tony was lying on top of me while Abby was off to the side. With everything that had been happening up until this point, my brain was going haywire and I couldn't think straight.

"You hit?" he asked, looking down at me worriedly. His eyes lingered on my wide ones before flicking over to Abby's.

"No." Abby wheezed out in slight shock. Tony didn't move, and I grunted breathily from all the weight bearing down on my torso.

"You're heavy." I quickly reminded after a moment of silence. _God Claire, Tony is lying on top of you and all you can thing is that he's heavy?!_ I resisted the urge to close my eyes in embarrassment. It had started. I have this weird tick that when I get way to overwhelmed, I blurt out anything and everything and have absolutely no filter. It has only happened a couple times but I had learned to curb it over the past few years. Now it was coming back with a vengeance, which is never a good thing.

"Oh sorry!" Tony exclaimed and quickly scrambled off me. This knocked me out of my mental ramblings. Once he was up Tony grabbed mine and Abby's arms and started to drag us along the floor, staying clear of the windows. Abby let out another shout of surprise. Tony set the two of us against the wall and pulled out his gun. I however acted like I had lost my marbles. Without thinking I harshly squeezed his thigh.

"Huh Tony, no wonder you're so heavy. You have a lot of muscle." I marveled. _Oh, God, shut up!_ Tony faltered and looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"Claire shhh." He scolded, not paying full attention as he was in full protective mode. Abby shot me an incredulous look. Tony walked past us and crouched down and my hand acted on its own again.

"Oh you have a nice ass too." I commented as I smacked it. Tony turned back to look at me in startled confusion. I groaned in humiliation and buried my head in my hands, desperately trying to get myself under control.

"Hey, is this how you deal with getting shot at?" he asked in concern, taking note of my uncharacteristic behavior. _Thank god he wasn't taking it seriously, even though I was being totally honest._ I lowered my hands so my eyes peeked out.

"I'm so sorry it's been a really stressful few hours….I don't really know what's going on right now." I croaked out with a grimace. Tony furrowed his brow and stared at me worriedly.

"This is my first time." Abby told him, taking the attention away from me. Tony nodded at us and went back into agent mode, glancing up and trying to get a look out the window.

"So this is the no filter stress huh?" Abby whispered to me once I scooted closer to her and pulled out my gun, giving her an 'unfortunately. And I hate my life' look. Abby nodded, her eyes still wide in amazement. It was one thing for her to hear about it from me but, I'm sure witnessing it was a whole different thing. _Thankfully Tony didn't know about it._

"Abby!" Gibbs worriedly called out at he started to head to the lab. The three of us whipped our heads around to look at him.

"Boss get down. We're under fire" Tony warned. Gibbs crouched down and made his way over towards us, turning off the lights as he did so the shooter couldn't see into the lab.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Outside Ari watched as the lights to the lab were turned off. He huffed in annoyance and popped out a shell from his riffle, tossing it out the window of the truck he was in, leaving it for NCIS to find. With a smug look, he drove off.

...

"Are you ok?" Gibbs asked them as he slid up to lean against the wall next to Abby.

"Yea." Abby told him, gaining her breath back as she calmed down. Gibbs leaned over to speak to Tony and Claire.

"Close off Anacostia park between the benches. Tell metro cops it's a crime scene." Gibbs told him, somehow knowing where the shots would have come from. Tony nodded and stood up to take off towards the door, but Claire lunged out to grab his leg. Tony stumbled and looked back at her in confusion.

"Hey, what if he has a night vision scope." She reminded, giving him a 'what are you thinking you idiot' look. Tony grimaced in realization.

"That's a good point." Tony agreed. Claire nodded sarcastically in agreement. This time Tony started to slowly crawl along the wall of the lab with Claire at his back.

"I will get you bulletproof glass." Gibbs promised Abby as he settled down next to her.

"There's no such thing Gibbs." she countered nervously.

"Ok, bullet resistant glass." He amended. She sighed, becoming slightly calmer. Gibbs relaxed a little too and reached over to pull a piece of glass from her hair.

"Ari didn't shoot at you and hit Kate by mistake, did he?" Abby asked, already knowing the answer. Gibbs set his hand on her shoulder.

"He's after me now." Abby continued.

"I was walking by that window when he fired." Gibbs told her.

"You're just saying that to make me feel safe." She countered. Gibbs shook his head and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I'll keep you safe Abby. I promise" He told her and pressed a kiss on her head. Gibbs sat there quietly, thinking through everything that had been happening. Maybe it wasn't just Abby that was being targeted. After all Claire and Tony where in the room with her too.

...

Down in autopsy, Ducky was labeling a container holding the bullet from Kate's vest to be analyzed. Once finished he walked over and looked down at the pale agent on his metal table.

 ****Kate opened her eyes and her lips twitched with a smile.**

 ** _"I appreciate you keeping me covered in front of the others." She told him, gesturing to the blanket that was pulled up past her chest._**

 ** _"Especially Tony." She added. Ducky smiled knowingly._**

 ** _"Yes, I know how modest you are." He told her. Kate huffed out a laugh._**

 ** _"Were." She corrected with a smirk._**

 ** _"I'm dead now Ducky." She reminded him. Ducky didn't answer. She let out a sigh and glanced up at the ceiling in thought._**

 ** _"I shouldn't be. I could've killed Ari right here in autopsy." She told him. Ducky thought back to when Kate had grabbed a scalpel from the table, before Ari grabbed her waist and pulled her to him threateningly. She had ample opportunity but why didn't she take it?_**

 ** _"Why did you hesitate?" he asked, leaning down next to her head. Kate stared up at the ceiling, her eyes flittering back and forth as the thought._**

 ** _"His eyes. there was something in his eyes….that made me not want to kill him." she answered. Ducky glared at the wall._**

 ** _"Well his eyes were ice to me." He commented with a subtle growl in his voice_** **.** **

Ducky was taken out of his trance when he heard the doors open. He quickly stood up and covered Kate completely as Gibbs walked in silently fuming.

"Ari fired at Abby's lab." Gibbs began, pacing by Ducky's desk.

"Good lord." Ducky muttered in concern.

"It had to have come from across the river at Anacostia park." Gibbs told him.

"Was Abigail hurt?" Ducky asked worriedly.

"She's a little shook up. Tony and Claire are with her." Gibbs answered.

"In the lab?"

"In the squad room running an incident report." Gibbs answered as he stared at the white sheet covering a body he knew too well. He stopped his pacing.

"You should have brought in another M.E. Duck." Gibbs told him quietly as he continued to stare with pained eyes. Ducky walked back over to stand next to him.

"I couldn't. Not for Caitlyn." Ducky confessed as he poured some brandy into two glasses that he had brought over. Both of them would need it.

"I've lost men in combat." Gibbs commented. Ducky said nothing but offered him a glass.

"You hope you won't, but you know you will." Gibbs continued, ignoring the drink offered.

"This is different." Ducky told him.

"But it shouldn't be." Gibbs protested as he rounded on Ducky.

"Kate was an agent. She knew she had to lay her life on the line." Gibbs continued, his hard stare boring into Ducky. He opened his mouth to reply but Gibbs cut him off.

"But you're right…its different." He admitted.

"I believe you've said it. You've lost men, have you ever lost a woman?" Ducky asked. Gibbs sighed and shook his head in disbelief. Ducky chuckled dryly. Sometimes Gibbs wasn't that hard to figure out.

"Let's face it Jethro, you and I are a couple of old chauvinists. Women will never be equal in our eyes. until their equal in death." Ducky told him wisely.

"Why Ducky? Why Kate and not me?" Gibbs asked in a soft whisper, starting to pace around the room again. He would have given anything for it to be him on that table instead of her.

"Well maybe he meant to hit you." Ducky suggested.

"No. No him sniping Abby means he's after my people. Women first." Gibbs explained. He thought back to how Claire was in the room too. With Claire's and Ari's history he wouldn't be surprised if Ari was actually aiming for her instead.

"Well then he's torturing you. One has to wonder what made him such a sadist." Ducky commented.

"I don't give a damn!" Gibbs growled.

"I just want to kill the bastard." He told his friend and walked out the doors in a huff.


	29. Chapter 29

**[** Kill Ari 1: 2]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in the evidence garage Abby was looking through the back parts of the car trunk that was shot at. She was waist deep into the trunk in her orange jumpsuit.

"Hey McGee, look at this." She called out. McGee shut the car door and set down the back seat he had pulled out. Abby held out a pair of tweezers holding a bullet behind her back, head still in the trunk.

"Me thinks it's a 308" she told him, her voice slightly muffled. McGee didn't answer as he was busy admiring at her bent form. Or more specifically her butt.

"Stop staring at my butt and get me an evidence jar." She scolded, her head never turning back. McGee blushed at being caught and scurried around for the jar. Once he got one he held it under the bullet.

"Drop it" he instructed, and Abby did. McGee put the jar down and went back to staring at her butt. Surely this time he wouldn't be caught. He tilted his head back and forth with a curious expression as he continued staring.

"Oh, I found another one." She called out from inside the trunk still. McGee suddenly felt a presence at his back and whipped around to see Gibbs. He reeled back in alarm while Gibbs stared him down calmly. Tim gulped nervously, waiting for the brutal scolding that Gibbs would typically give him for this.

"Boss, we…we…we found a 308 slug." McGee told him, hoping to avoid the confrontation. Gibbs nodded and didn't say anything more on the matter. At this moment Abby finally pulled herself out the trunk and hopped up with the slug in her tweezers.

"Two" she corrected.

"They were both in the trunk." She explained as McGee grabbed another evidence jar.

"These the same rounds from that dirt bag in the warehouse?" Gibbs asked looking at the holes on one side of the car.

"Yes, those I found in the right side of the car." She explained, showing him the bullet holes.

"9 mil slugs." Abby told him.

"Ari missed his first shot and hit the controller with his second." McGee added, gesturing to the other side where Ari had shot at him.

"Where were you before you took cover?" Gibbs asked. McGee thought for a moment and led him to the other side of the car.

"Right here." McGee crouched down in the position he was in. Gibbs looked over and saw a bullet hole right behind where Tim's head was.

"Tony's right. You owe that terrorist a thank you." Gibbs told him seriously before standing up. McGee stared at the hole with wide eyes. If the terrorist hadn't have shot about the same time Ari did, causing him to duck, he would have been dead. The elevator doors opened up and Tony walked over to the team with an irritated scowl.

"He didn't police his brass again." Tony told Gibbs. He had just returned from the phone call with metro PD who patrolled where Gibbs had said Ari was shooting from.

"Metro PD found shell casings, in the park next to tire tracks." Tony told him.

"And?" Gibbs asked. Tony paused for a moment in confusion.

"Nothing, I was waiting for you to tell me, to tell them to bring the evidence here ASAP." Tony explained, watching for his reaction. Gibbs bobbed his head to the side and walked up to Tony.

"Do I have to tell you that DiNozzo?" he asked with slight irritation and walked away.

"Well you always do." Tony commented. Gibbs leaned down to scan his retina so he could open up the elevator.

"Tell metro PD to…"

"Already did boss, Claire is up there right now." Tony interrupted with a bright smile. Gibbs gave him a withering look. But still didn't say anything.

"Oh by the way the director wants to see you up in MTAC!" Tony called and gave a thumbs up as the elevator doors closed. Once Gibbs was gone Tony turned around with a smug smile.

"Why are you baiting Gibbs?" Abby asked him, her hands on her hips.

"I'm trying to get him to stop being nice." Tony told her seriously and raised his eyebrows deviously. Abby smiled.

"I like him nice." McGee imputed. Tony and Abby both turned to look at him with a 'really?' look and both reached up to head slap McGee in sync.

...

Gibbs headed down the stairs the new NCIS director, and a previous 'teammate' of his, following behind.

"Tony where are we?" Gibbs asked as he walked over to stand by Tony's desk.

"McGee and Abby are working firearms analysis, I'm matching….." Tony trailed off as he spotted the woman in front of his desk.

"…tire track to vehicles." He finished, watching her in confusion. Who was she?

"No one is to leave the building; McGee is on protection duty with Abby. You're in charge of Claire's when she gets back. We'll be back in an hour." Gibbs explained and he and the woman rushed off towards the elevators. Tony leaned over to watch them leave with a smirk on his face. Obviously having dirty thoughts about where they were going.

** **_"Your mother should have washed your mind out with soap." Kate scolded. She leaned against her desk with a short catholic girl uniform and her hair in a bob. Tony's eyes raked over her curiously._**

 ** _"Gibbs leaves with a woman and your only thought is, Newner." She taunted. Tony leaned forward on his desk and watched her with an appreciative smile. This was the best hallucination ever._**

 ** _"Was not." He protested with a grin._**

 ** _"Was too." She countered in a flirty voice._**

 ** _"I've always known what you were thinking Tony." She told him while smiling coyly. Tony continued to stare at her legs with wide eyes. Kate's smile dropped._**

 ** _"What? What are you up to?" she asked him. Tony said nothing but raked his tongue along his teeth, staring at her lustily. Kate looked down at her outfit and squeaked in alarm._**

 ** _"Tony, I just died and you're having a sexual fantasy?" she asked him in disgust. Tony's lip quirked and he huffed out a breath, his eyes never wavering. Suddenly Claire popped up beside her, in a bikini that accented her assets very nicely. Tony's eyebrow popped up in interest._**

 ** _"Tony, are you kidding me?!" Kate asked, staring at the newcomer. Claire looked down in confusion at her outfit._**

 ** _"Tony is this the bikini I wore to spring break?" she asked in surprise. Tony's eyes seemed to glaze over as he turned his attention towards Claire._**

 ** _"I can't help it." He told her breathily. A sudden wind blew through and raised up her Kate's skirt, revealing everything underneath. She jumped in alarm and moved her hands to push it down, the wind blowing up, mocking the typical Marylyn Monroe pose._**

 ** _"DiNozzo!" Kate shouted at him, trying to fix herself. Claire looked over at Tony and shook her head as some droplets of water started cascading down her body. The sight of her started to get Tony excited and he leaned on his hand dreamily._**

 ** _"Tony you're disgusting!" Kate shouted at him, appalled that this was actually happening. Tony smirked._**

 ** _"Sometimes I used to picture you naked." He told her with a wolfish grin. Kate screamed in alarm as her wardrobe vanished._** **

...

Claire walked in and stared at Tony as he staring at the empty desk in front of him dreamily, shooting him incredulous looks.

"Tony!" Claire called out irritably, getting his attention. Tony's eyes widened in alarm and he snapped his head to look at her. He blushed and fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat, which caused Claire's eyes to widen and jerk her head back in surprise. What had he been fantasizing? The two of them stared at each other dumbly for a moment, trying to figure out what just happened yet at the same time not wanting to know. Claire's mouth opened and closed multiple times but no words came out as she glanced between Tony and where he had been staring. Tony cleared his throat nervously.

"Where you just?..." she trailed off staring at him incredulously.

"No!" He quickly answered. Claire lifted a brow in surprise but didn't comment on it.

"I'm gonna go grab some coffee then I'll be back…" she slowly told him and without another word nodded to the woman behind her, gesturing towards the bullpen before leaving. Tony turned slightly to watch her leave. Noticing another presence, he glanced over to look. an exotic woman was standing there staring at him like he was stupid. With Claire there he didn't even notice the newcomer. She had her dark curls pulled back with a scarf and was dressed in baggy cargo pants, jacket and a plain shirt.

"I'll call you back." Tony quickly covered up and smacked a button on his phone, trying to smoothly cover up what had just happened. The dial tone rang out and he quickly shut it off before glancing back over at the stranger.

"Hi….I was just…." He trailed off, linking his arms behind his head acting casual.

"Having phone sex?" she asked as she walked to stand in front of his desk. Tony laughed nervously.

"Phone sex….heh….no." he brushed it off. She continued staring at him with a disbelieving expression.

"Uh…charades." He explained, still leaning back against his chair.

"Charades? Like uh…" she did the film gesture.

"You've played." Tony commented in approval.

"Never on the telephone." She told him, glancing around.

"Yea….." he trailed off awkwardly.

"My partner and I were coming up with quotes for Saturday night." He told her with a chuckle. She raised her brows in amusement.

"You play charades on Saturday night?" she asked him. Tony scowled at her implication that he didn't go out.

"All the time before I go clubbing. Who are you?" he asked defensively. She pursed her lips and pulled out her ID.

"Ziva David. Mossad." She introduced. Tony glanced at the ID and her face questioningly.

"You're Israeli?" he asked. Ziva huffed in mock approval.

"Very good having made that connection. Mossad and Israeli." She complimented, wandering around to the middle of the room. She turned to look at him with her hands resting in her pockets.

"What can I do for you officer David?" he asked politely, but with undertones of distrust.

"Nothing." She told him.

"I'm here to see special agent Gibbs." she elaborated. Tony raised a brow.

"How do you know I'm not Gibbs?" he asked. Ziva laughed mockingly and sat down in McGee's chair with a slouch. Once settled she chuckled once more and stared over at him in disbelief.

"Gibbs?" she asked, acting like it was the funniest joke. Tony scowled.

"He'll be back in an hour. Are you sure I can't help you?" he asked sarcastically. Ziva 'tsked' and shook her head.

"I don't think so." She told him patronizingly. Tony turned and the two stared at each other in interest. He needed to know why this infuriating and yet intriguing woman was sitting here.

"We got off to a bad start." He told her and stood up to walk over.

"I'm special agent Tony DiNozzo. I wasn't playing charades; I was…remembering my partner." He told her, his voice softening a little at the end. She stared at him in confusion.

"Naked?" she asked.

"No.." he quickly protested but sighed.

"..yes." he admitted.

"So you were thinking of your naked partner? Have you two?..." she trialed off gesturing towards the direction Claire had just walked towards. Tony's eyes widened in alarm.

"No! Not her, um my past partner…" he trailed off awkwardly.

"I….I was just…." She smiled up at him knowingly as he stuttered, trying to give a good answer.

"Look, I'm not the only man who does it." He defended, not being able to come up with a better argument.

"Oh women do it do." She agreed. She smiled up at him teasingly and started to slowly rake her eyes over his form. Tony stared at her in discomfort.

"With handsome men." She added. He nodded and walked away, back over to his desk.

"And even an occasional woman." She continued glancing toward Claire's direction again. Ziva sat there watching his reactions. Tony shook a finger at her with a smile.

"Now you're teasing me." He told her knowing what she was up to. Ziva smiled.

"Didn't your partner tease you?" she asked.

"Not about….sex. Kate was kinda puritanical." Tony explained, glancing over at the empty desk across from him. Ziva's eyes widened.

"Sorry." She told him awkwardly.

"But it didn't matter….I wasn't interested in her…we were…partners." he stuttered again, trying to emphasize his point. She watched him struggle in amusement and took of the headband. Tony stopped talking and sighed as he watched her undo her hair and let it loose across her shoulders.

"Because you're interested in your other partner?" she asked curiously. Tony huffed in frustration. Why did she always point this back to Claire? Yes, he was having a mild fantasy just then but that didn't matter right now.

"No, not because of that." He told her sternly. She tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"You don't find her attractive?" Ziva asked.

"She is….but not to me." He told her, his eyes glancing around trying to convince himself of this.

"Then why did you imagine her naked?" she asked in confusion. Tony shook his head in defiance and shook a finger at her playfully.

"Ms. David, you can sit there and slouch provocatively for an hour if you'd like, or you can tell me what you need and maybe I can help." Tony told her, wanting to get rid of her faster. This person was messing with his thoughts and he didn't like it. Ziva pursed her lips and stood up, starting to pace.

"You can't help because I'm here to stop agent Gibbs from killing a Mossad officer." She told him sternly.

"Ari Aswari?" Tony asked, spinning his chair to face her.

"Yes" she told him, fixing her hair. Tony narrowed his eyes and motioned for her to lean down with his finger. She complied, watching him with intrigue.

"I'd wish you luck…but I want the bastard dead too." He told her with a growl. Ziva straightened back up scowling at him.

 **Claire's POV:**

I was over in the break room getting my fill of coffee. I was going to need it to get through this case. But something was still bothered me. Why was Tony acting all hot and bothered when I caught him doing….whatever he was doing. I don't think I want to know what he was doing, sometimes it's better not to know when it comes to Tony.

** **_"Now look who is the one who's all hot and bothered." Kate joked from behind me. I rolled my eyes and sent her a bitch face over my shoulder. She was sitting at one of the tables. I held back a smirk as I saw her in her casual sweats but she had rollers in her hair and a pair of reading glasses. Kate saw my expression and glanced down at her attire, not amused. I couldn't help but giggle and sit down across from her._**

 ** _"Really, Claire. I look like such a mom." she whined. I fondly smiled over at her before staring down at my coffee. I trailed my hands over the rim absently._**

 ** _"You were always kinda like a mom figure Kate." I told her truthfully._**

 ** _"Oh that's flattering. We are practically the same age." She joked. I ducked my head and laughed._**

 ** _"Yea but we all know you were the mature one. I don't know how you managed Tony and I." I scoffed playfully. Kate nodded in agreement._**

 ** _"You two did act more like children most of the time. God only knows what trouble you two will get into now that I'm gone. Poor McGee." She chuckled. My small smile dropped. She was gone._**

 ** _"I'm really going to miss you Kate. You were one of my best friends." My eyes started to glisten with unshed tears._**

 ** _"You still have your other best friend. Remember Tony? He's not going to let you fall apart and you know I wouldn't either." She reached over and set her hand on mine comfortingly. I huffed out a sarcastic laugh._**

 ** _"Yea cause it was so obvious Tony was worried about my well-being a few minutes ago when he was doing who knows what in the office." I told her bitterly. Kate smirked over at me._**

 ** _"You're just jealous that he might have been fantasizing about another woman." She told me pointedly. I glared over at her. I hated when she was right._**

 ** _"It doesn't matter, Tony is Tony. He drools over any skirt that walks by." I muttered._**

 ** _"I bet he would let off if he knew how interested you are." She prompted. I gave her a look. Even now she's bringing that up._**

 ** _"Yea and maybe he'll calm down his hormones and marry someone." I told her seriously. The two of us glanced at each other before bursting into a fit of laughter._** **

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

McGee was down in the lab on 'Abby duty' while the workers were repairing her window. Abby had on some slow and twangy blues music, drastically different from her typical rock. It unnerved him.

"What is with this music?" he eventually asked with a grimace.

"I'm playing it out of respect for Kate." Abby told him as she worked on her computers.

"Well I thought you were from New Orleans?" McGee asked in confusion.

"So?" She asked, not seeing the point of these questions.

"Well don't they play jazz at funerals?" he pointed out. Abby whirled around to give him a blank look.

"Coming from the cemetery after the body has been buried. On the way to the cemetery we play a dirge. Do you know what a dirge is Timmy?" she asked him patronizingly. Abby was a bit ticked at him now.

"Creepy music?" he answered easily.

"Can you go back to the squad room and let me do my job?" she asked him in annoyance.

"I can't." He confessed. Abby's expression softened but narrowed her eyes at him.

"Why?" she asked. McGee sighed before answering.

"Gibbs…..Gibbs told me to watch over you." He told her. Abby relaxed her posture as she thought about it.

"Ohh…" she seemingly sneered out in realization. McGee braced himself for the rest of it.

"…that is so sweet." She whispered with a smile before turning back to her work. McGee blinked and looked at her in confusion. That went better than expected.

 **Claire's POV:**

Up in the bullpen Tony and I were sorting through stacks of tire treads and analysis papers.

"You're from a wealthy family." Ziva casually pointed out as she watched while leaning against his file cabinet. I really didn't like her. She was always nosy and teased Tony, which didn't sit well with me.

"Really?" he asked dryly, trying to ignore her. I could tell that she unnerved him too. Ziva pushed herself up and walked around the desk.

"Born and raised on the East Coast. Went to a New England boarding school. Spent some time in the Midwest and Philadelphia." She finished smugly. Tony looked up at her in exasperation.

"How would you know that?" he asked in slight amazement. Ziva merely widened her eyes playfully and sent him an alluring smirk. I glared at her and she rose an eyebrow at me but I wasn't going to take the bait. Thankfully the elevators opened up to reveal Gibbs and the redhead walking back into the office together. Looks like he knows the director too.

"Shalom Jen." Ziva greeted as she walked over to the director. Tony and I watched in confusion as the two shared air kisses and started a conversation. We quickly got up and paced over to Gibb's desk with wide eyes. The two of us both leaned on Gibb's desk to have our own private conversation as we watched the two.

"You first." Gibbs muttered.

"Ziva David, Mossad. She's here to stop you from whacking Ari." Tony explained.

"Yours?" I asked innocently.

"Director Jenny Shepherd, same mission." Gibbs muttered.

"Which agency?" Tony asked. I shot him a confused look.

"Ours." I told him. Tony scoffed in confusion but stopped at the serious look on our faces.

"Yea?" he asked dumbly. Apparently this was news to him. I spotted the two coming towards us and gestured for us to straighten up.

"Special agent Gibbs, Ziva David, Mossad." Director Shepherd introduced. Ziva held her hand out for him to shake.

"Ziva, Director Shepherd has spoken often of you." She commented with a polite smile.

"Really?" Gibbs muttered with a nod.

"Ziva and I worked anti-terrorist ops since 9-11. You saw one today in MTAC." Jenny explained.

"That was yours?" Gibbs asked, looking to Ziva.

"I only acquired the intel." She told him with a smile. We heard her phone ring and I watched her warily as she reached down to get her back, excusing herself. Tony stared over at the new director curiously.

"Yes, I really am the new NCIS director" she told him. Tony nodded with the dumb expression stuck on his face. He huffed out a nervous laugh as she walked away. As she did Tony couldn't help but tilt his head as he watched her go...or rather watch her backside. I silently groaned. What was with him today?! Gibbs promptly walked around his desk and head slapped him, making Tony wince.

"Good to have you back boss." He called. I chuckled at his surprised expression. At least Gibbs was getting back to normal. Nice Gibbs was too weird. The two of us walked over to continue working at his desk when I spotted Ziva by the window. She was talking lowly to someone in Hebrew which made me suspicious. She was hiding something, but I just couldn't place what.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

After Officer David finished her conversation she walked over to where her bag was left next to McGee's desk.

"Ms. David, whose get cut off it Ari is not just a Mossad mole but a terrorist?" Gibbs asked her casually as he strapped on his gun. He had the same sinking feeling about her and he was determined to find out what she was hiding.

"Mine I suppose, since I'm his control officer." She answered warily.

"Ah, they promote control officers young in Mossad." Gibbs mused innocently.

"They have to; the good ones are dead at your age." She countered with a playful smile. Gibbs looked over at her in amusement. Tony and Claire watched with interest from Tony's desk. The tension in the room was steadily growing between their boss and the newbie and they wanted to be there to watch the outcome.

"Do you know how I located Ari's terrorist cell?" Gibbs continued.

"GPS picks up his encrypted cell phone." Ziva answered easily.

"He wanted you to know the terrorist's location so you could stop the missile instead of him, which would have necessitated blowing his cover." She told him in defense.

"Only a NSA satellite can GPS an encrypted phone." Gibbs told her. Jenny watched them warily from her spot at Kate's empty desk.

"Ari didn't know I had that asset." He pointed out.

"You give him less credit than he gives you." She chuckled.

"Who hung up first, you or him?" she asked knowingly. Gibbs glared at her. Somehow she knew he was the one to hang up.

"Ari knows a fix only takes 19 seconds. When Salome visited Bush, Ari's Hamad cell kidnapped agent Todd." She continued, sauntering over towards Gibbs whose expression had hardened.

"Why didn't he kill her instead of freeing her to warn the secret service?" she pointed out. Jenny quickly got up to play the diplomat between the two.

"I don't know why don't you arrange a meet and he can tell me." Gibbs told her with a glare. Ziva turned towards the director.

"Ari Aswari is an undercover agent in Hamas, he hasn't turned on us or you. He didn't kill agent Todd." She spat out, turning the last part towards Gibbs.

"Gibbs, even if you're right we owe them proof." Jenny gently pointed out, seeing his expression.

"That's all we ask. Don't kill the wrong man." Ziva continued.

"Like Mossad did in Norway." Gibbs pushed.

"That was a mistake that cost us dearly." She growled and slammed her hand on the desk.

"Not as dearly as the Palestinian waiter you killed." Gibbs countered. Ziva was taken back and glanced at the Director.

"Ziva, assure your deputy director that Ari Aswari is a suspect. No action will be taken unless we have evidentiary proof." Jenny assured. The two turned to stare at Gibbs accusingly.

"Proof before action." Jenny told him sternly. Gibbs glared up at her and walked away without a word. He shot a subtle glance towards his agents. Claire and Tony quickly got up to follow him. Something was up.

...

In the ballistics lab Abby was picking up another riffle to test out. McGee sat at her desk, watching her go through the different guns to use the bullets for comparison. With her busy it left McGee to do some thinking. He leaned back in the chair, crossing his hands behind his head with a sigh.

 ****** ** _"You were my sweet super hero Kate." He muttered to himself. Suddenly a Kate clad in a black leather suit leapt over his head, did a twist in midair and landed in a cliché super-agent crouch on the desk. McGee looked at her in confusion as he let his hands drop. Kate chuckled at him._**

 ** _"You're a naughty boy Timmy." She teasingly scolded._**

 ** _"Oh my god I'm becoming Tony." He muttered while staring at her tight leather suit. Kate giggled and flipped off the desk. As she did her suit morphed into a shorter leather suit with studs. She was now a dominatrix. Kate flicked her whip and pursed her lips alluringly at him. McGee's eyes widened in alarm._**

 ** _"Oh wow….." he gasped out.**_**

"Wow what?" Abby asked as she walked past him. McGee whipped his head over towards her in alarm.

"Um….I….uh…wh…I.I…." he stuttered. Abby stood there in confusion, waiting for his answer.

"Stop 'uh umming' McGee and spit it out." she told him with an amused smile. Tim stood up and walked over towards her.

"I was…uh… thinking about Kate." He told her vaguely. Abby smiled at him.

"Me too. I kinda feel like she's here you know." Abby told him with a soft smile and made her way over to her computers. Abby glanced over to look at her Kate, who put up a rock on sign. McGee's mouth tilted up in a smile as he glanced back at his own fantasy who was sending him a teasing wink. Abby looked over and saw his dumbstruck expression, his tongue practically hanging out of his mouth. She reached over and head slapped him, snapping him out of it. McGee looked at her in slight confusion, before flittering his eyes around. What just happened there?

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs, Tony and I walked into the elevator.

"I want you on Ziva's ass." Gibbs whispered to him once we started our decent. With the camera watching us while the elevator was on, it was best to keep this secret.

"She's not really my type boss…" Tony started but was cut off by a head slap. Gibbs beat me to it.

"To tail her." Gibbs elaborated.

"I knew that." Tony sheepishly answered. I just shook my head at him. He was acting really weird today.

"And the reasoning behind tailing her is?..." I asked, redirecting the conversation.

"She's been in contact with Ari, it's the only way she would know I hung up on him." Gibbs explained before turning to face the front. Tony and I glanced at each other. That makes sense. I knew something was hinky about her.

"Oh…I don't want you to get pissed but uh…" Tony started.

"I thought you wanted me pissed." Gibbs told him. Tony chuckled nervously while I held back my giggles. Gibbs was onto him and his stunts earlier.

"I did but I kinda wanted you to stop being nice….." I shot him a warning look.

"Not that you're not nice…I mean..uh.." Tony fumbled, trying to say it without getting Gibbs even more mad.

"Will you spit it out DiNozzo?" Gibbs demanded as the doors opened. Tony took a breath.

"What if Ziva's right and Ari knew you'd trace the call and he wasn't the sniper." Tony told him, tilting his head with a reluctant expression. I didn't like to think about it but we had to consider that Ziva was telling the truth. Gibbs nodded his head.

"She is right. Ari wanted me to raid the warehouse. He set me up and it cost Kate her life." he admitted and walked out. Tony thought in confusion and reached forward to hold the doors open.

"Is he a mole or a terrorist?" he asked in confusion. Gibbs turned to look back at him.

"Whatever works to play his game." Gibbs told him with a raise of his hands. Ari was twisted so it was hard to tell what he was at any given moment.

"If Ziva leads me to Ari?" Tony continued.

"Shadow him and call me." Gibbs answered. I rose my brow in disbelief.

"So we can bring him in?" Tony suggested, knowing full well that wasn't the plan.

"Yea so we can bring him in." Gibbs easily agreed as the door shut.

"Into autopsy." I muttered once the doors closed. Tony glanced back at me and laughed.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in Abby's lab Gibbs and McGee were shown the array of rifles that Abby had acquired and tested against the casings from Ari's sniper nest.

"The FBI databases gave me 6 weapons that fit the rifling pattern's fit the bullets you recovered." Abby explained to Gibbs. McGee reached over to touch one of the rifles and she promptly smacked his hand away. Tim frowned as Abby pointed at him warningly while she continued talking to Gibbs.

"I've been able to eliminate all but three. Two swat weapons, the Tango 51 and the Bravo 51. And this…."

"My old friend." Gibbs muttered looking at the rifle she was pointing out.

"Marine M40 A1 sniper rifle." He told them. Gibbs smiled fondly as he picked it up off the stand and aiming it out Abby's window expertly.

"It looks sweet the way you hold that boss." McGee marveled as he watched with childlike intrigue.

"Sweet?" Gibbs asked, not looking away from the scope. Tim's expression dropped and he looked to Abby for help. She looked away. He was on his own with this one.

"Uh…yea it's an um…expression…" Tim explained.

"Yea, I know what it means McGee." Gibbs told him before pulling the rifle back down.

"You think Ari looks sweet when he shot Kate?" Gibbs asked him as he set the weapon back on the stand.

"Of course not boss." McGee told him softly. Abby quickly walked over to her computers to redirect the awkward atmosphere.

"My vote is for the Tango or Bravo 51." She told them, pulling up the various bullets to examine their markings.

"What do you think Gibbs?" Abby asked as she set them up side by side. Gibbs leaned over her shoulder.

"Your test rounds show more gouging than Ari's" he told her and walked over to the big screen to see better.

"He was hand loading them with molycoating." Gibbs pointed out instantly.

"You are so good." Abby told him with emphasis.

"Molycoating?" McGee asked her.

"Yea, lanthanum disulfide, it's a lubricant. It decreases barrel ware and increases accuracy." Abby explained.

"McGee run a trace on Bravo and Tango 51 sales. The last six weeks, tristate area. Check the Bravo first." Gibbs listed off.

"On it boss." McGee nodded and took off towards the office.

"Any prints on the brass?" Gibbs asked as he walked back over to Abby. She put a hand on her hip and watched him curiously. Something was up.

"No" she answered, still staring at him.

"Is your gut telling you something?" she asked. Gibbs stared at the computer.

"Yea…..I need coffee." He dismissed before turning towards the doors. Abby grabbed his arm.

"No Gibbs. Come on." She told him with an imploring look.

"This isn't just another investigation. Todd was your agent but Kate was my friend. So can you stop it with the John Wayne stare and…."

"What don't I believe in Abby?" Gibbs asked her cryptically.

"UFOs, mystics, coincidences, saying you're sorry, excuses….I could go on all night." Abby answered in frustration.

"As a marine sniper I used hand loaded Lapua 308 broadtail, full metal jacket, molycoated bullets." He listed off in a low whisper. She stared at him in realization. That was everything Ari had done and used so far. He was doing this all on purpose for Gibbs.

"Gibbs…" she muttered sympathetically.

"You know what a sniper calls a Bravo 51?" he continued.

"No." Abby told him hesitantly.

"A Kate." He answered thickly and swiftly walked out the door.

 **Claire's POV:**

I was over in the break room again, refilling on my coffee. Everyone except Gibbs and I had gone out. Tim was working on some weapons tracking while Tony was out tailing Ziva. As I was waiting on the machine to finish my phone started to ring. I frowned in confusion as reached into my back pocket. Who would be calling me this late at night? Looking down at my caller ID I saw that it was Devon. Which was weird cause he said he would be out with some friends tonight. I just shrugged my shoulders and answered it without a second thought.

"Yes?" I answered.

"Hey Claire." Devon answered stiffly. My brows furrowed in confusion, but I didn't want to pry.

"How is everything?" I asked casually. He must have called for a reason after all.

"I've been better." He responded with a small growl. This got my attention.

"What's wrong?" I asked hesitantly.

"He's just in a grumpy mood. Doesn't seem to like meeting new people." A different voice responded smugly.

"Who are you?" I quickly asked.

Oh I'm hurt Claire. You don't recognize my voice?" Ari asked in mock hurt. I could feel rage starting to radiate off of me. I took a moment to compose myself, I couldn't go off the handle with Devon on the line.

"You bastard." I spat out. The prick laughed.

"You do remember me." He remarked.

"If you harm my brother…"

"I have no intention of harming Devon. I'm in no mood to break your little family apart." Ari countered. On the other end of the line I could hear the click of a gun and Devon wincing. This just got me even more mad.

"What do you want?" I asked cautiously.

"A special curtesy. One agent to another." Ari answered calmly.

"Yes well I'd be most willing to arrange a free autopsy." I told him easily. Ari laughed again making me growl.

"Dearest I want to prove that I didn't kill Caitlyn." Ari explained.

"Oh yeah you've really convince me of your innocence by taking Devon hostage?" I told him sarcastically.

"Devon is free to go, if you listen to my side of this tragedy." Ari explained. This peaked my interest.

"I'm listening." I told him reluctantly.

"It's a long story and I'd hate to have somebody trace this call." Ari argued.

"No one is in here with me." I assured.

"It's been a difficult case for you. I'm truly sorry." Ari told me dryly. Now he was trying to make me pissed off and it was totally working.

"Get on with it." I pressed harshly.

"You meet me alone." Ari instructed.

"What happens to Devon?" I immediately asked.

"Come alone and you can exchange places." Ari explained.

"Claire don't come he'll kill you." Devon quickly protested, but stopped as I heard Ari readjust his gun.

"Learn to trust Devon." Ari scolded patronizingly.

"Ms. Conners?" Ari pressed.

"You have my word." I finally agreed. I could practically feel Ari smirking.

"Thank you."

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In the bullpen Gibbs was sitting at his desk, staring at Kate's empty spot again.

 ** _**_** _ **"Reevaluating your convictions?" Kate asked, as she sat across from him the same as before.**_

 ** _"How many times did you tell me there's no such thing as a coincidence?" she asked from her desk chair. Gibbs didn't answer but continued to stare absently_** _._ ******

"Jethro?" Jenny called, breaking him out of his trance.

"I know It's been a difficult day for both of us." She began hesitantly. Gibbs smiled wryly.

"That's what my DI used to say. I never believed him." he commented. She frowned and nodded before turning to leave.

"Jen." Gibbs gently called out. She turned back around.

"You going to dinner with CBS?" he asked her quietly.

"I am."

"Don't do that interview." He told her, with a pleading look. She didn't say anything but stared back at him.

"Please." He asked again. If she did the interview she would be put in danger with Ari since he cared about her. Her expression softened at this. Gibbs really meant it and it warmed her heart to know that he still cared.

"I'll see if I can delay it a few days." She told him with a nod, caving just a little.

"Good." He muttered and looked down at his desk.

"Goodnight Jethro."

"Night." Director Shepherd headed over towards the elevators, leaving Gibbs in solitude once more. As the doors opened she looked in to see Claire who dressed to leave.

"Agent Conners, it's nice to officially meet you." She greeted kindly.

"You too. Congratulations by the way." Claire told her politely.

"Going home?" Jenny asked. Gibb's head perked up as he heard the two of them.

"Um…yea." Claire told her hesitantly. This made Gibb's expression drop.

"Claire." Gibbs whispered in realization. He quickly bolted up out of his desk and sprinted towards the elevator. Just as he reached the doors they were closed. He was too late. Gibbs frantically pressed on the button, hoping they would reopen but it had already left.

...

In a parking lot Devon was sitting in his car quietly seething.

"So when do you ship out again?" Ari casually asked from his backseat.

"Couple weeks." He answered coldly.

"I've always found that work is the best…" Ari trailed off seeing headlights headed their direction. He smiled as he saw an older muscle car pull into a spot across the street.

"A vintage mustang. How very Claire." Ari mused. Devon looked over at his sister's car nervously. She had told him about Ari so he knew the tension between the two.

"Flash your lights." Ari instructed. Devon reluctantly reached up and did as he asked. Seeing this Claire got out of the car.

"Roll down your window." Ari continued.

"Now wait in your dear sister's car while we talk." Ari told him. Devon glanced back at him in the mirror and slowly got out. Claire breathed a sigh of relief, seeing him unharmed and began walking towards them. Devon started walking in her direction so he could reach the other side. A sniper scope centered on Claire as they both made it midway through the street…..


	30. Chapter 30

[Kill Ari 2: 1]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Claire and Devon slowed their pace as they neared the midway point both of them glancing over the other apprehensively.

"You shouldn't have come Claire." He told her protectively.

"I couldn't let the bastard put a bullet in you, I would be failing at my older sibling duty." Claire told him trying to lighten the mood. Devon sent her an unamused look. As they walked Claire glanced around in thought.

"Do you have your cellphone?" she asked going through her options.

"Ari took it." He retorted.

"Well keep walking, don't turn back until you're behind the wheel. Where is Ari?" she asked once they reached each other before slowly continuing on.

"In the backseat." Claire sighed in thought.

"When I reach your car, I'll lead him to the open window. That's your que to drive off fast." Claire told him sternly as she spun around to walk backwards.

"Claire." Devon started to protest, not turning like she had asked. He feared that if he made a wrong move that she would pay for it but he trusted her to know what she was doing. After all she had worked with him a few times before.

"Go straight to NCIS. Tell Agent Gibbs everything that's happened. " She continued, ignoring his worry. Claire continued towards the car warily.

...

Back at NCIS Gibbs was calling Claire and only getting voicemail, much to his irritation.

"You've reached Claire Conners. Leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can." The machine droned. Abby and Gibbs were leaning over the speakerphone at Gibb's desk. At the sound of the beep Gibbs started talking…..or rather scolding.

"I specifically said no one was to leave the building." Gibbs growled.

"Claire call us back ok, we're really worried." Abby chimed in.

"No one includes you, Agent Conners!" Gibbs ranted over Abby's concern.

"We're worried including Gibbs." Abby tried to input but was cut short by Gibbs, slamming his hand on the phone to hang up.

"But Gibbs it's not Claire's fault ok, she probably did her paperwork on autopilot and just took herself home the same way." Abby suggested, trying to convince herself.

"Boss" McGee called, getting Gibb's attention.

"An outside call came on her cell 23 minutes ago. I'm tracing the number." McGee told him as he typed frantically on his keyboard. Gibbs leaned over his shoulder worriedly as he worked.

...

Back at the lot Devon reached his sister's car and swiftly got into the driver's seat. Meanwhile Claire approached the car Ari set down his scope and smiled up at the her through the window. She leaned in the open car window to look at him with a dull stare.

"You look surprised." Ari noted.

"I expected to be shot." Claire answered sarcastically, despite how honest she was.

"Claire. please, I would never harm a former partner." Ari told her dismissively. She raised an eyebrow. Suddenly the sound of car squealing could be heard as Devon struggled to drive the stick that she had. Claire whipped around to watch him as he kept jerking to a stop and then revving the engine.

"Use the clutch!" She called out to him in alarm.

"Good god man use the clutch!" She shouted again while waving her hands up in exasperation. Devon tried to listen but as he did the gears grinding could be heard and she winced at the harsh metallic sound. Her poor car.

"You're stripping the gears." Claire cried in alarm almost crying as Devon painfully tried to drive away. Surprisingly enough he was never one to be all that great with cars. Claire was the mechanic of the family. During this whole ordeal Ari had gotten out of the car and was leaning on the open door.

"This is too painful." Ari told her with a grimace. For once in her life she agreed with him. After another few agonizing moments Claire gave up.

"Devon turn it off!" she shouted, gesturing wildly for him to cut the engine off. The car finally turned off and Claire let out a sigh of relief.

"Obviously your brother does not have an intimate relationship with a standard transmission." Ari mused.

"Unbelievable." Claire muttered.

"The price of growing up in America." Ari shook his head before reaching back inside the car to grab a bag while Claire sent a glare in his direction.

"That was so unnecessary Ms. Conners. Devon is free to leave." Ari assured as he patted the car. Claire watched him with confusion.

"In his own car." Ari indicated before patting Claire's shoulder and walking off, bag in hand.

...

Back at NCIS McGee had found the phone that made the call to Claire.

"Boss, the call came from Devon Conners cellphone." He glanced up at Gibbs in surprise.

"I almost forgot about Devon. He's been busy lately." Abby added thoughtfully.

"Yea, he's been at sea for most of the year. Only been in town for a few months." McGee told her.

"Maybe he heard about Kate and he called his sister." Abby suggested hopefully.

"They're in a pub somewhere consoling each other." McGee added eagerly.

"Yes." Abby agreed with a little bounce. Gibbs glared at the computer.

"I don't like it." Gibbs muttered, contradicting their optimism.

"Why?" McGee and Abby asked in unison.

"I don't need a reason why." Gibbs countered.

...

At the lot Ari prodded Claire to move towards his car, to which she quickly jerked away. Devon had already taken off after Claire's multiple threats.

"Did you buy it in such pristine condition?" Ari asked casually as they walked.

"God no, the frame had severe rust damage." She told him. Claire walked beside him civilly but kept glancing over at him in thought, trying to figure out what he was playing at.

"Must have taken quite a while to fix it up." Ari commented thoughtfully.

"Mmhmm the top was gone, the body dented, the panels rusted out. It was a wreck." Claire told him as they heard the thunder rolling overhead.

"Who did the restoration?" he asked.

"I did." She easily answered.

"Of course you did." Claire had enough and quickly stepped in front of Ari to look up at him.

"Do you doubt me?" She asked him, maintaining eye contact.

"Not at all, I was thinking of the irony. Hands so skilled at taking a life are also skilled at restoring it. At least to a machine." Ari told her dryly, smirking wryly at the end. She stared at him silently for a moment, determined not to let him get to her.

"What do you want Ari?" Claire finally asked. Ari smirked down at her demeaningly.

"A test drive." he answered coyly, stepping around her and continuing towards the car. Claire watched him in confusion. From Ari's hand Devon's cell rang and he looked down at the caller ID.

"Now who at NCIS could be calling Devon at this hour?" Ari asked, glancing back at her. She didn't answer.

"Hmm?" he prodded knowingly. Claire glanced away with an eye roll, wanting to make him irritated.

"Oh well." Ari shrugged, seeing that he wouldn't get a rise from her and threw the phone into the patch of grass across the road.

"Devon is sure to arrive there shortly. Claire?" Ari gestured to the passenger door of the car as he opened the other side. She reluctantly walked over.

"Oh, your cell phone and your gun." Ari reminded. She held back a snarl and reached into the car before handing the items it to Ari who tossed them over next to Devon's phone.

"Now buckle up dear, it's a dangerous night." He mildly joked as he got into her car. Claire rolled her eyes before flopping down into the seat next to him. The rain started to pour down as Ari easily turned on the car and drove away.

...

Meanwhile at NCIS McGee sighed in frustration as he listened to another voicemail on his desk phone.

"Voicemail." He told them.

"Maybe they can't hear their phones because they're in a pub." Abby pointed out hopefully.

"Want me to leave a message?" McGee asked.

"No get a GPS fix." Gibbs ordered. McGee quickly set to work.

"Snap it up McGee." Gibbs told him and McGee put it up on the big screen.

"Just one second boss." he muttered as he continued narrowing down the signal.

"Got it." Mcgee told them. Gibbs squinted at the screen in confusion.

"Georgetown?" he muttered.

"Olive and 29th…I know that street. It's mostly residential." Gibbs told them in confusion. There was no logical reason for either of them to be there.

"Locate Claire's cell." Gibbs added. McGee looked it up and the marker showed up right next to Devon's. Abby's face lit up.

"See, they're together." Abby told them.

"There's no pub there." Gibbs told her and rushed over to his desk.

"Well maybe Devon lives there." Abby countered as Gibbs pulled out his gun.

"That's a negative, he lives with Claire remember." McGee corrected.

"So they're at a park, they're talking." Abby tried again, determined to keep up happy thoughts. Gibbs didn't buy it and started walking out.

"Want me to go with you boss?" McGee asked and stood up.

"No Tony's out, stay here with Abby." Gibbs told him as he rushed out the door. The two of them watched as he sped out.

"For nobody leaving the building, there are a lot of people leaving the building." Abby pointed out.

"You think we should tell Tony?" McGee asked nervously. Abby looked at him in surprise.

"McGee the second we mention Claire is missing, he will kill you and then go after her…..then Gibbs will kill both of you. Best not until after all this blows over." She suggested. McGee nodded in agreement, knowing that if Tony found out about this he would lose it and they needed him to watch Ziva while being on his game. Some things are best left unsaid.

...

Unaware of everything happening Tony was watching Ziva as she did laps in her hotel pool. He stared at her from outside the door. As he watched he couldn't shake the weird feelings that he was having. Ziva was unique, that was sure and he didn't know how to handle her. The only other woman he had really been around that had such a dominant personality was Claire. Following this train of thought, he hadn't heard from her for a while which was unusual.

 ****** **_"Why don't you visualize her naked?" Kate taunted from behind him, still in her catholic uniform. Tony didn't answer but watched his mark with hardened eyes._**

 ** _"Does she intimidate you?" Kate continued as she took a few steps closer._**

 ** _"The woman hasn't been born yet who can intimidate Anthony DiNozzo." Tony told her stubbornly._**

 ** _"You're forgetting your mother." Kate argued._**

 ** _"Mothers don't count." Tony countered, still watching the Mossad agent intently._**

 ** _"And that lawyer….Marla?" Kate asked, teasingly._**

 ** _"Divorce attorney, worse than mothers." He told her dismissively._**

 ** _"Well, Ziva's not your mother and she's not a divorce lawyer. She reminds me a little of Claire when it comes to you..…..she definitely intimidates you." Kate told him._**

 ** _"Does not" whispered in annoyance._**

 ** _"Does to." She easily retorted._**

 ** _"Does not."_**

 ** _"Does to." Tony glared_** _._ ******

...

Over in Georgetown Gibb's car sped towards the location where the GPS signals were. The street was vacant. He quickly parked the car and called McGee on his cell.

"Ok where are they now?" he asked, talking over the pouring rain around him.

"Same place boss, Olive and 29th." Mcgee told him.

"Get a fix on my cell." Gibbs suggested as he started looking around for anyone familiar, preferably alive.

"Ok, you're right on top of them" McGee answered after a moment. Gibbs threw his hands up in the air and swiveled around.

"Damnit McGee they are not here!" Gibbs shouted back borderline frantic.

"They have to be boss."

"Gibbs is there a pub?" Abby chimed in hopefully.

"No! There is no pub, there are no people, no cars." Gibbs spat back.

"Ok, I was just checking." Abby told him submissively. Gibbs walked back over to his car and pulled out a flashlight.

"How accurate is this fix McGee?" Gibbs asked, not willing to give up his search.

"25 meters." He answered. With this Gibbs hung up his cell and headed for the park section across the street from him. He hurriedly scanned the ground hoping that he wouldn't find a body. A shine caught his eye and he reached over to pick up a can with a bullet hole in it, sending him into a mental panic.

 ****** ** _"It's going to happen again isn't it?" Kate asked from behind him, her voice echoing._**

 ** _"Claire's gonna take a bullet for you." She continued, watching him curiously. Gibbs didn't respond but continued scanning his light all over. She was insinuating all of his deep fears but he struggled against them._**

 ** _"He won't kill her." Gibbs told her after a moment of thought._**

 ** _"Why not?!" she harshly asked._**

 ** _"Because you couldn't live with the guilt?" Kate continued to antagonize. Gibbs still didn't say anything and continued searching the ground._**

 ** _"Maybe Ari knows that. Maybe that's his plan." She pointed out in a gentler tone._**

 ** _"Maybe the only way to save Claire, Abby and McGee is to kill yourself." She told him, pinpointing his deepest thoughts. Gibbs couldn't respond as he swallowed thickly worry cascading over his face._** ******

Gibbs took a moment to collect himself as the rain began to lessen. He pulled out his cell and dialed Claire's number. Holding it to his ear he listened. Suddenly the sound of her ringtone could be heard in the silence and Gibbs bolted towards it. Scanning his flashlight over the wet ground he spotted the two cellphones next to each other on the ground.

...

Back at NCIS McGee and Abby sat next to the phone worriedly, waiting for it to ring. With their arms crossed on the desk and heads on top of it they stared in silence. The second it rang both of them lunged but McGee was the one to pick it up.

"Special agent McGee." He quickly answered.

"I found Claire and Devon's cellphone in the park." Gibbs told them.

"Why would they leave their cellphones in the park?" he asked in confusion. Abby quickly put it on speakerphone, not wanting to be left out.

"They wouldn't McGee." Gibbs told him in annoyance.

"Do you want me to come down there?" McGee quickly asked, itching to do something to help his friend.

"If I wanted you to come down here I would have told you so." Gibbs countered.

"Put a bolo out on Claire's mustang. Pull her license plate from her file." Gibbs instructed.

"Gibbs, Ari has Devon and Claire." Abby told him worriedly.

"They're not dead Abbs." He told her sternly, alleviating a little of her stress. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared solemnly at the phone.

"How do you know?" she asked him softly.

"Because Ari dumped their cellphones in the park, not their bodies." Gibbs told her gently. McGee glanced up and stood in surprise as a familiar figure made their way towards them.

"Um boss Devon is here." He informed. The man rushed over to them, wet from the previous raining.

"Ari's got my sister." Devon told them worriedly.

"How did you get away?" Gibbs asked as he started up his car again. Devon sighed, trying to keep his emotions in check.

"I didn't. Ari let me go." He told them. McGee and Abby stared at him in slight shock while Gibbs sped away from the scene. Once Gibbs had hung up and Devon had calmed down a little, he explained everything that had happened.

"I've never driven I stick." Devon told them as he ran a hand through his hair tensely.

"Are you serious?" Abby asked in mild amusement. Devon let his hands flop to his side.

"You drive a stick?" McGee asked her. She looked down at him from where she was perched on the corner of his desk.

"Yea, since I was like 10." Abby told them in a 'duh' tone.

"What were you driving when you were 10?" Devon asked incredulously.

"A red 47-4 half ton pickup with 4 in the floor and Bubba riding shotgun." She quickly rattled off with a shrug.

"Bubba?" McGee asked raising his eyebrows. Abby sighed in remembrance.

"Ah, best damn coon dog in Jefferson parish." She told them fondly. Tim looked over at Devon in confusion. They all looked over as they heard the elevator ding as Gibbs arrived at the bullpen.

"I don't believe in coincidences Tony." Gibbs told him on the cell. At the hotel another woman who wore the same Jewish star necklace as Ziva had walked into the pool a few minutes ago, making Tony suspicious.

"I know boss you beat that into me." Tony told him as he watched Ziva swim yet another set of laps.

"Haven't I beat that into you?" Gibbs asked. Tony glanced around in confusion.

"That's what I said." He told him, hearing a bit of static on the other line.

"What did you say?" he could barely hear over the growing noise. Tony sighed and raised the antenna on his phone, stepping away from the door.

"I said that the reception sucks." He huffed out.

"Stay with them, I'm on my way." Gibbs ordered.

"What if they split up?" Tony asked.

"What about your gut?" Gibbs asked. Tony tilted his head back in annoyance and bit his cheek.

"It wants a pizza." He answered sarcastically before hanging up. Gibbs sighed in annoyance and hung up his phone.

"What do we have?" he asked tiredly. The stress from Claire's disappearance and maintaining the case was starting to wear on him.

"Ari kidnapped Devon to force Claire into a meet." Mcgee explained. Gibbs glanced over at Devon.

"Did you warn her?" he asked. Devon crossed his arms in irritation.

"I did but you know her, Claire came anyway." he explained with a sigh. Everyone knew that Claire was not to be persuaded when she set her mind to do something.

"It's not your fault Devon." Gibbs told him softly, watching his scared expression.

"Ari's the bastard. Claire made her decision to go, not you." Gibbs continued in thought.

"Debrief him, write it up. I'll be with Tony at the Embassy hotel." Gibbs told them before heading towards the exit again.

"Um Tony's at the Embassara." Abby explained gently as she padded behind him.

"Then why did he say the Embassy?" Gibbs asked in annoyance. Abby shrugged.

"Cellphone garble?" she suggested. Gibbs sighed.

"Ok from now on everyone is using phonetics like we did in the cold war." He told her.

"Um **G** ulf- **I** ndia- **B** ravo- **B** ravo- **S** ierra?" she rattled off his name nervously, using phonetics. Gibbs gave her a look but held the elevator door open.

"Can I please go back to my lab; I'm flipping out up here with nothing to do." She told him, shuffling on her feet.

"Ok but don't leave…"

"Don't leave the building, I know." She assured. Gibbs nodded.

" **B** ravo- **Y** emini- **E** cho" she told him with a wave as the doors closed.

 **Tony's POV:**

After a few minutes I looked up to see the mystery woman come out of the locker room. I casually leaned against the door to try to hear what they were saying.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked casually.

"One more lap and you'll have it all to yourself." Ziva told her before taking off again. How many laps is she going to do?! I started taking pictures of the new girl on my camera phone as she hung up her robe.

"How's the water?" she asked as Ziva finally exited the pool.

"Lovely, have a nice swim." she answered as they switched places. That was it? I watched curiously as Ziva grabbed the robe, taking pictures as she did just in case. I glanced around the pool once more seeing if there was anything I was missing and my eyes widened as I spotted Ziva heading towards me. I bolted. As the door opened I had vanished from her view. Ziva walked past me, towards the elevators. Once she was gone I popped my head out of the nearby workroom I had been in and glanced around before making my way back over to the pool. I looked back over at the rack following a hunch and noticed the robe missing from where it had been. I pulled out my phone again and glanced through the pictures. That's when I saw it.

"They're switching robes." I muttered. That's why they didn't exchange any words. With the mystery girl seemingly distracted I dashed over towards the rack where the robe was. Taking off my jacket to seem less suspicious, I hung it up and reached into one of the robe pockets. Inside was an envelope filled with cash. Inside the other pocket was a passport for Ari under a new name. Ziva was working with Ari.

"Hey!" a voice called out from behind me. I quickly put it back and started forming some type of cover story.

"What are you doing?" the girl asked.

"Going for a swim" I immediately told her, starting to take off my polo shirt. _Good job Tony, that's logical._ I mentally praised myself. She gave me an odd look and started to get out.

"There's a locker room." She pointed out sassily.

"I'm fine." I assured her and proceeded to pull down my pants and reached for my undershirt.

"Where's your swimsuit?" she asked her suspicions peaked. _Right….._

"Don't have one." I answered with a cheeky smile and snapped the band of my boxers. _Again Tony with the save!_

"I should call security." She told me and grabbed her robe. I chuckled, buying myself some time to think of an answer.

"You didn't see the sign." I insisted.

"What sign?" she scrunched her brows in confusion. I noticed as she dug her hands into the pockets.

"I must have been blocking it. Um remember when I was waiting outside, and you wanted to come in?" I asked, coming up with a plan.

"Oh I remember." She assured. _Hmmm I wonder if I should be flattered._

"Hackensack Nudist Society from 10:27 to 11:51 the pool is ours." I listed off as she nodded in amusement. _Man I am good._

"Yea and it's our third annual convention. And here's Agnes and Andrew right now." I continued, spotting the rather large couple walk in. They paused and shot us a semi terrified look. _Yikes it's a good thing they aren't nudist._

"He's our president and Agnes is our social secretary." I rattled off for the big finish to my story. I was a genius. She looked over at them with a polite smile, seemingly buying it.

"Hey guys." I waved over at them.

"They look funny with clothes on." I joked, scrunching up my face obnoxiously. _Yea be goofy dude, that way she won't think anything of it._ She chuckled along with me, in amusement. She totally bought this. _Man I am good!_

"Hmm convincing…funny even, but I'm married." She told me mock apologetically before heading back towards the locker room.

"So am I." I told her immediately. _Wait why did I say that? Never mind she's gone now._ The second the door closed I frantically pulled my pants back up, not bothering to button it and grabbed my other clothes from the hook. I rushed towards the doors past the couple, barely holding up my pants as I made my way out the door.

Once I had gotten properly dressed I called Gibbs.

"Boss can you hear me?" I asked after he picked up.

"Across the street." Gibbs told me and flashed the car lights.

"Gotcha." I hung up before running across the street in the rain that had picked back up. I quickly hopped into the passenger seat.

"Ziva slipped a phony French passport and some cash to the uh woman with the star of David I told you about." I told him, huffing from his rush. I paused to sniff at something in the car. Something smelled absolutely divine and I was starving. As if from a dream Gibbs reached back to reveal a pizza. I gasped in delight as he set it on his lap. I could truly cry in happiness.

"I love you boss." I sighed dreamily before tearing into it. Oh god it was heavenly.

"How did you know the passport was phony?" Gibbs asked.

"Ari's photo but not his name." I told him easily before stuffing the first bite into my mouth. If only my mouth was bigger.

"What name is he using?"

"Arewnt you curuwios to know how I gowt it?" I asked in a muffled voice from my full mouth. No time to stop and chew.

"I assume you improvised like a good agent should." Gibbs told me in a 'duh' tone. I nodded enthusiastically.

"What an improv, I swear to god I could get a gig on SNL." I boasted and held my hands up for a dramatic pause. Gibbs stared at me dully but I knew he was going to love this.

"Alright get this, I pretend that I'm a goofy guy trying…."

"Pretend?" he interjected. This caused me to pause and glance over at him in mock pain.

"That hurt boss."

"What's the name?" Gibbs asked, obviously used to my antics. What can I say, it's part of my charm.

"Well…." I packed in one bite and went for another but Gibbs reached out to grab my wrist, giving me a stern look. I smiled sheepishly and pulled out the partially chewed chunk of pizza.

"The name." Gibbs asked again.

"Rene Saurel. L" I relayed as he wrote down the name.

"Description?"

"No it was just a name and a photo." I told him putting the pizza back in. He knows what Ari looks like.

"The woman." Gibbs corrected in exasperation. _Right…I knew that._

"5'9", dark hair, blue jogging outfit, big gym bag, real pretty girl. Looked enough like Ziva to be her sister, real pretty girl." I rattled off, smiling in thought at the last one. She was pretty, but I'm more into blue eyes personally.

"Maybe she is." Gibbs suggested.

"Mossad is like the mafia, one big happy family." he mused and dialed a number on his cell. Noted. Now that he was done with me at the moment I happily chewed on the slice of heaven I had in my hands.

"Hey McGee put out a passport alert. Ari is traveling with a French passport under an alias, Rene Saurel. Sierra-Alpha-Uniform-Romeo-Echo-Lima." he spelled out. What's with the phonetic alphabet? I watched in amusement as Gibbs face morphed into one of exasperation.

"Terrorism." Gibbs told him after a pause. Oh little McGee.

"That ought to get customs attention." I commented.

"Let's make sure he doesn't get that far." Gibbs told me.

"So have you heard from Claire at all? I can't seem to get ahold of her." I causally began. Truthfully I was a bit worried about her silence. It wasn't typical.

"Don't worry about it Tony." Gibbs dismissed. I watched him curiously as I chewed on the pizza. He was hiding something from me. I nodded thoughtfully and glanced back over at the hotel, immediately spotting a familiar figure.

"Boss, that's her." I alerted, pointing with my pizza towards a girl walking out of the hotel.

"Stay with Ziva." Gibbs ordered as they watched her get into a taxi.

"What if this girl is meeting Ari? You're going to need backup." I pointed out. Gibbs shifted in his seat and glared at me. Well that didn't work….

"Let me rephrase that." I started.

"Out." Gibbs ordered. Seeing that I wasn't going to win I quickly got out, pizza box in hand.

"Thanks for the pizza boss." I told him through the window.

"Thank the night shift, I swiped it from them." Gibbs called before taking off after the taxi. _Well then, thank you night shift._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

As Gibbs followed the taxi, he spotted a familiar muscle car. Claire's. In an instant he whipped his car to block the other leaving the taxi to go on ahead.

"Ari! Get out Ari!" Gibbs barked, gun aimed over his car.

"Wait Gibbs, put that weapon down. I've had enough excitement for tonight." Claire tiredly scolded as she got out of his car.

"Ari abducts me, Devon strips my gears, and now you play chicken on a wet street." She listed off irritably while Gibbs ran over to scan the car, gun at the ready.

"Where's Ari?" Gibbs asked, walking back over to her.

"Gone I'd imagine; we were parked some ways back. He got a call and told me to drive down the street for 10 minutes." Claire explained. Gibbs quickly pulled out his cellphone.

"McGee, congress cab number 17 picked up a female passenger at the Embassara hotel 10 minutes ago. If he's in route I need his 20. If he's dropped his fare, then get me an address. Take the bolo off Claire's mustang, she's safe." Gibbs listed off before hanging up. He huffed and stared down the street where the taxi had gone off.

"Our paths didn't cross by accident." Claire realized, watching him carefully.

"Ari's cell call came from that woman in the cab I was tailing." Gibbs told her, gesturing in the direction the taxi had gone.

"He sent me down the street so that you would run into me." she added.

"Yea and she keeps going, picks him up and they're gone." Gibbs finished.

"Ari abducts me to get you off her tail?" she asked finding that a bit over the top.

"Maybe, what did you talk about?" Gibbs asked her.

"My 'stang for a while, he was surprisingly knowledgeable. Then colleges. I studied abroad for a while and we happened to attend the same school." she started to ramble.

"Anything important" Gibbs asked, leaning on the car.

"He swore he didn't kill Caitlyn. He made a very logical and passionate defense." Claire admitted.

"Do you believe him?" Gibbs asked, his eyes begging.

"I don't but others will. He was very persuasive. Said he knows you'll never believe him." she continued ruefully.

"He's right about that!" Gibbs shouted angrily.

"And it's a shame that one of you has to die." She added. At this Gibb's face neutralized and he straightened up. Claire sighed before continuing.

"He's arrogantly confident that it won't be him. But he said on the off chance that he did, to keep looking for Caitlyn's killer." She told him while Gibbs headed for his own car.

"He's a slick bastard Claire, but he's right. One of us is going to die." Gibb growled and shut the car door.

"Gibbs…..Gibbs!" Claire tried to stop him eminent rampage but Gibbs sped off down the street leaving her standing there.


	31. Chapter 31

[Kill Ari 2: 2]

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the hotel Tony was standing outside the door, holding his pizza box under his arm.

"Espresso?" Ziva asked walking up behind him and handing him a coffee cup. Tony gave her a wary look. _How had she known he was here?_

"Take it, it's not a bribe." She assured in slight exasperation. Tony glanced away and bit his lip, knowing he was caught.

"How long have you known I was…"

"Following me?" she finished. Tony didn't answer.

"Since I left the navy yard." She answered smugly. Tony chuckled in disbelief. There was no way she had known for that long.

"I don't think so." He countered haughtily.

"Blue sedan, you stayed behind a white station wagon for a while, then a telephone van. You lost me at the traffic circle on…"

"Ok, ok.." Tony cut her off in a huff of annoyance. Ziva looked over at him smugly, reveling that she had bested him.

"Ok, you knew." He agreed in annoyance. Ziva handed the coffee cup to him again.

"Take it, its chilly out here." She insisted. Tony shot her an unamused look and reached over for the one in her other hand. He nodded at her tauntingly as if to say 'oh yea, I know what you're doing.' Ziva laughed.

"You shouldn't feel bad, I was trained by the best." She told him, taking a sip of her coffee. Tony pointed his finger at her.

"You know, that's what I like about Mossad." He mused and took a sip of his own.

"Our training." Ziva asked.

"Modesty." He corrected dryly. Ziva chuckled and took a step down as Tony walked over to throw away his box.

"Um there's a slice in there." Ziva warned. Tony glanced back at her with a glare and took out the remaining piece before tossing the trash. He walked back over towards her slowly and offered her the slice. She thanked him in Hebrew and Tony responded in Italian. Ziva squinted at him playfully and took a bite. The two stood side by side in silence for a while just watching the rain. Ziva fidgeted and looked almost nervous in the silence.

"I lost my little sister Tali. In a Hamas suicide bombing….she was 16 and the best of us." Ziva told him quietly, hurt still lingering in her voice. Tony stared ahead, still listening.

"Tali had compassion." Ziva added before going silent again.

"I'm sorry." Tony told her sincerely.

"After Tali's death I was like Gibbs." She continued, glancing over at him.

"All I wanted was revenge." She elaborated.

"Is that why you joined Mossad?" Tony asked, taking another sip of his coffee. Ziva shook her head.

"I joined Mossad long before Tali's death. An old…"

"Family tradition." Tony imputed. Ziva looked at him sharply.

"It was really a sense of duty." She corrected. Tony smiled over at her knowingly.

"Oh come on….who recruited you?" he prodded. Ziva filled her mouth with pizza and didn't answer.

"Father, uncle, brother…boyfriend?" he continued giving her a look. She gaped at him playfully.

"Aunt, sister, lesbian lover." She suggested teasingly. Tony chuckled and nodded his head appreciatively.

"You're good. You almost got me off the question…..almost." he leaned in to whisper, staring her down seriously.

"I volunteered." She told him and set her empty cup atop of his, done with the conversation.

"Lelatoph." She bid him goodnight in Hebrew and walked back into the hotel.

"Buena note." Tony told her goodnight in Italian, a thoughtful smile on his face. She was quite the mystery and Tony was up for the challenge.

...

Back at the NCIS office, McGee was working on his computer silently. He printed off a part of the case file, as it was printing he looked over at Kate's chair solemnly. He ducked his head and took the papers over to the filing cabinet beside Tony's desk. he opened the drawer and paused in thought, his mind taking over.

 ****** **_"Why haven't you come down to see me yet?" Kate's gentle voice echoed in his head. He looked down to see her head lying in the drawer, just like he knew she would be in autopsy._**

 ** _"If you don't peek at the back of my head I'll just look like I'm asleep." She assured with a shrug. McGee stared down at her, his face scrunched up in sorrow. Kate sighed._**

 ** _"So lonely. I'd even welcome a visit from Tony." She told him. McGee stayed silent._** ******

...

 **Claire's POV:**

"McGee!" Abby called, knocking him out of his trance. I trailed behind her excitedly as we walked over to his desk. Gibbs refused to let me go anywhere that I didn't have a chaperone so Abby volunteered.

"Didn't Tony match the tire tracks to a suburban?" Abby asked excitedly, sitting down at his computer. McGee put the papers away.

"Uh yea. Bridge stone Delores. Factory issue." He listed off. Abby beamed and typed furiously on his computer. I stood behind her a smile gracing my face.

"Um what are you doing?" he asked, watching us warily.

"We caught a break." I told him. McGee quickly joined us.

"NRO orbited a new keyhole. They are doing calibration tests using the seventh hole of Norfolk naval gold course." Abby explained, showing him the satellite view of the course.

"Why the seventh hole?" he asked. Abby pointed up at him.

"See that's why I dig you McGee, you think specific." She praised before getting back to work. I watched them in amusement.

"Whatever the reason, we are grateful because…..that orbit took the keyhole over Newport news. I imputed the warehouse coordinates…" I trailed off, Abby narrowing down the area on the screen. I was able to pull some strings to get this footage and I was beyond thrilled that I could. McGee watched from the big screen and looked over at us in elated shock.

"That's the rooftop." He realized. I nodded in confirmation. Abby zoomed in even more.

"That's me…Tony, Gibbs, Claire….and Kate." He pointed out. Abby moved the scene.

"Is that the building where the area sniper nest was?" she asked. McGee and I nodded.

"It is." He assured. Abby zoomed in to reveal an empty area. McGee sighed, his shoulders slumping miserably.

"He's not there." He muttered sadly.

"What did you expect a video of him shooting?" Abby asked incredulously, even I knew we wouldn't get that lucky with him.

"I was hoping." He told us in exasperation.

"We can't expect to be that lucky McGee." I told him seriously.

"Ok, then why are you so excited?" he asked, obviously not understanding the point of all this.

"I don't know maybe it's being alone with you…..at night.." Abby trailed off mysteriously. My eyebrows shot up to my hairline as I glanced between the two of them.

"Abby." He sighed in embarrassment.

"Look could it be?! A black Chevy suburban driving down the alleyway." Abby pointed out, in a show host voice. McGee's eyes widened in excitement too.

"Can you read the license plate?" he asked hurriedly.

"I can try but its more an angle than resolution." She told him and zoomed in. We could only see the top sliver of the plate. Abby and I watched in amusement as McGee squinted and tried bending down to get a better angle.

"It's not a dress McGee. You can't look up it to see what you want." I commented, making McGee look at me in slight embarrassment. Tony was starting to rub off on him. Abby tried playing the feed as the satellite moved to get a better angle. Finally, she got one.

"Aha." She cheered and zoomed in on the plate again.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes…yes!" she cheered each time she got closer in. Finally, we could read the plate clearly. This was the break we needed. McGee smiled and rushed over to hug her in excitement. At least that's what I thought he was doing. She and I frowned when he started tugging her out of the seat in a very ungraceful manor.

"McGee?" she scolded jokingly.

"I'm sorry but I've got to put a bolo out on that plate." He told her and quickly took his seat back.

"Pretty good huh?" she asked him with a grin. McGee sighed happily.

"You did great." He assured. Abby reached over to hug me around the shoulders as we watched him work.

...

As it would turn out Gibbs and Director Shepherd went out on a mission to find Ari with the license plate and address we gave him. How they ended together I believe is an interesting story. It's obvious that they had some…..more than friendly…relations at one point. Anyway the man shot at her as they drove towards him. He ran out of the car and Gibbs shot him down….but it wasn't Ari. That's when everything really started falling apart.

Gibbs was in a daze for the next few hours…..all the signs pointed to this other person that was in the car. He shot at Dr. Shepherd….like Ari shot at the other girls Gibb's worked with. The bullets that killed Kate were shot from the same rifle the man was carrying. He was a homegrown terrorist. There was no evidence saying that Ari was the sniper at all, it all pointed to this one guy. This was going down like Ari had told me it would. Why he was so insistent on the lie that it wasn't him. We all stood in the bullpen, 'closing the case'. This couldn't be it. That bastard couldn't get away with murder but the evidence was all against it.

...

"I believe it's safe for your team to go home Gibbs." The director told him, but Gibbs wasn't hearing her. He just stared out into space like he had been all day. She sighed and turned back to the team.

"Special agent Todd's funeral is in Indiana tomorrow afternoon. SECNAV has offered his private jet to fly us there. Go home, get some rest." She told us gently. We all looked at her with sad eyes. It was really setting in now and we couldn't even have her real killer brought to justice. We can't make a case on gut feelings as much as we would like to. I stood there timidly, holding my arms around myself. None of us made to move. I wasn't ready to be done yet. Tony was the first to look past her and wait for Gibb's command. McGee and I followed. If he wasn't fine with it, then neither were we. Gibbs nodded in agreement. Reluctantly we all left to their designated stations. Ziva also left. As we walked out I grabbed Tony, opting to take the stairs instead of the elevators. I just needed a little one on one comfort from someone who understands. He didn't say anything but gave me an odd look as he let me lead him.

"Can we make a stop to autopsy real quick?" I asked him softly, physically drained by everything that had happened. Tony nodded and put his arm around my shoulder, guiding me downstairs. I knew he wouldn't refuse. After his mini explosion after I casually explained my kidnapping he ranted and raved about how I wasn't leaving his side. I calmed him down but in all honestly I didn't want to leave his side anyway.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"What about you Jethro?" Jenny Shepherd asked.

"Mohamad didn't kill Kate and he didn't shoot at Abby and Claire." He told her.

"You're not infallible Jethro, no matter what your gut is telling you. Ari isn't trying to kill you, but this obsession might." She told him sternly, worry in her eyes at how obsessed he was.

"Hey Jen." He asked leaning forward.

"What?" she asked in exasperation.

"Why did he only shoot at your side of the car last night?" he implied.

"I suppose you were right, he was trying to kill women who work with you." She admitted.

"How did he know you were in the car? I called you at the spur of the moment. we were parked in the dark; he couldn't see through our windshield even with a scope." He pointed out.

"That guy was sent to die, not to kill." He whispered sternly at her. Jenny thought about it but quickly shook it off.

"No, no one is going to do that." She dismissed, but the thought was still gnawing at the back of her mind.

"Come on Jen. Hamas suicide bombers blow themselves up all the time. It doesn't matter how a martyr dies, as long as it's for the jihad." He spat.

"Mohamad last night, he died for rivers of honey and 72 virgins." Gibbs told her. She stood in though as he pushed for the elevator. He had a point.

"I'm not saying you're right. But if you are how do we prove it?" she asked. Gibbs gave her a look.

"We? When did you join my side?" he asked. She sighed and entered the elevator with him.

"I've always been on your side." She gently told him.

"what do we do?" she asked.

"Kill Ari before he kills me." He told her easily.

...

Down in autopsy McGee pulled out a drawer. He stared down at it for a moment before finally reaching up to pull back the sheet, looking down sadly at Kate's pale complexion. He was finally able to make it down to see her. He owed her that much. From behind him Tony slowly walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Claire stood off to the side.

"I told you she looked good." He told McGee, who glanced over at them.

"The Probie wouldn't believe me Kate. He thought you'd look like return of the living dead." Tony joked down at her. McGee glanced between them sheepishly.

"Did not." He quietly protested.

"Don't lie to the dead McGee. It's not nice." Tony lightly scolded, walking to stand on the other side of her. Claire walked forward to stand at her head. McGee nodded and tried to swallow back the overwhelming emotions that were threatening to bubble up.

"I was a little afraid." He admitted to her.

"The kid was terrified." Tony whispered with a knowing smile.

"I bet it took a lot of guts to come down here alone." Claire commented, smiling over at McGee comfortingly. McGee looked up at her and looked back down.

"It showed how much he cared for you." Tony told her.

"I really did like you Kate….a lot." McGee told her, his voice thick. Claire smiled wryly, her own eyes tearing up.

"We all did." She muttered. The three teammates stared down at the fallen agent with heartbroken expressions. This was the last time they would see her. After a moment Tony reached over to cover her face back up. He walked over to Claire and McGee, wrapping his arms around their shoulders and guided them out gently. As they walked to the parking lot McGee broke off, letting the other two walk ahead to their own spots.

"Can I stay with you tonight? I know Devon cares but I can't really take his sympathy right now." Claire admitted as she stood by her car. Tony watched her expression. He couldn't remember the last time she looked like this. Claire looked up at him pleadingly as the rain poured down on her already wet form, her arms wrapped around her middle. She was so broken, so vulnerable. It nearly broke his heart to see her so distressed. There was no way he was going to deny her comfort.

"Sure thing." Tony nodded his head towards his car and she eagerly followed him. The ride over to the house was silent. Tony kept glancing over at her worriedly, but she paid no attention. She just stared out the window at nothing. They parked at his apartment complex and he quickly walked over to open her door for her. The trip remained silent as she followed him into the apartment.

"There's some of your spare clothes in the bottom drawer of my dresser. Don't want to catch a cold for the funeral tomorrow." Tony gently told her.

"Thanks Tony." She smiled up at him gratefully and made her way into his bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Tony made his way into the kitchen to start up some coffee, just as something to warm them both up. He leaned against the counter, his arms crossed against his chest and let his mind wander.

 ****** **_"Wow Tony, the night before my funeral and you're brining a girl home." Kate quipped from across from him. Tony rolled his eyes at her implying tone._**

 ** _"That is not what's happening and you know it." He told her sternly. Kate chuckled._**

 ** _"But you wouldn't mind if it happened, right?" she pushed, a knowing smirk on her face. Tony scrunched up his face at her._**

 ** _"What?" he asked her dumbly. Kate scoffed._**

 ** _"Oh come on Tony! Everyone knows that you have a major crush on her! I can only imagine what you were like in college, probably even more hormonal than you are now. How she doesn't see it is beyond me." Kate shook her head in disbelief._**

 ** _"Kate now is not really the time for this ok? There is nothing to pursue so just drop it please." Tony told her, avoiding the path that this conversation was going. This was not the time to be thinking about this. Besides all he was concerned about right now is making sure Claire didn't break down on him._** ******

Before Kate could protest the sound of the door opening brought Tony back to the present situation. Claire walked into the kitchen clad in a large t-shirt, and leggings with her damp hair in a messy bun on top of her head. Tony straightened up and handed her a cup of the fresh brew. She smiled thankfully up at him before taking a sip. Tony patted her shoulder and made his way into the room so he could change into dryer clothes. Claire took her cup and sat down on the couch, curling her legs up underneath her.

 ****** ** _"Comfortable?" Kate asked from beside her on the couch. Claire glanced at her warily, unsure of the underlying tone in her voice._**

 ** _"Oh don't give me that look. You and I both know that you are beyond content being here with Tony." She scolded._**

 ** _"Kate this is not the time." Claire scolded, a small blush coming to her cheeks. Kate smirked at her impishly._**

 ** _"Mmmhmmm, Tony the gentleman to the rescue. I'm sure he's more than willing to cuddle up to you in comfort. That boy cares for you, more than you know. You two just need to own up to it." Kate told her. Claire chuckled into her coffee. Maybe eventually, but now they were both to emotionally compromised for it to mean anything._** ******

Tony stepped out of the room and made her way over to sit next to Claire, taking the place of where Kate had been. Setting his coffee on the side table, he reached over to take her now empty cup and set it on the table too. He switched on the TV and lounged back against the armrest holding his arm out invitingly. Claire slid over and leaned her head against his shoulder, resting her hand on his firm chest muscles and fisted his shirt instinctively. Tony draped an arm around her shoulders and the two sat in silence, watching the old black and white movie that was on until they fell asleep. The next morning would bring its own perils but for now they were content to bask in each other's company.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The next day at the office Tony was explaining a movie to Ziva. He was dressed in a three-piece suit as it was the day of Kate's funeral. Claire was sitting at his desk, dressed in her own dark apparel, getting great amusement out of Ziva's exasperated expression.

"The Peacemaker. George Clooney, Nicole Kidman. They made it in '97, it's a real action flick." He explained animatedly. Ziva sighed heavily and ran a hand down her face, wanting nothing more than for him to shut up. She didn't understand how his partners could stand it.

"Clooney and Kidman have to find this nuclear weapon, before its used by terrorists. I can't believe you never saw it." Tony scoffed, looking over at Claire in disbelief. He was perched on the edge of McGee's desk while Ziva was resting in his chair.

"Where is Gibbs?" Ziva sharply asked, ignoring his antics. Tony looked at her thoughtfully.

"You know that's the first question you asked me when we met." He pointed out crossing his arms. She stared up at him blankly.

"No, the first question was 'were you having phone sex'." She corrected. Tony chuckled nervously, glancing over at Claire whose eyebrow was raised.

"Ziva, deputy director David is on teleconference for you." Director told her from the level above. Thankful for the distraction Ziva quickly picked up her bag and practically sprinted towards the stairs.

"Oh…deputy director David? That wouldn't be daddy would it?" Tony taunted as he followed closely behind her. Claire watched him with an amused smile on her face.

"David is a common Israeli name." Ziva dismissed.

"You didn't answer my question." Tony argued as she tried to get away from him. Gibbs walked down past him, making Tony turn to chase after his boss.

"What did they lose a nuke boss?" Tony asked.

"According to the Deputy Director they don't have nukes." Gibbs answered. Tony cleared his throat, nodding for Claire to join before continuing.

"Boss?" he asked for elaboration.

"They have a power plant in Demona where a small amount of plutonium is missing." Gibbs elaborated.

"Hamas is making a bomb?" Claire asked quietly as they watched Gibbs rummage through his desk.

"They have a core, no detonator. Ari was to buy a pluton trigger and present if to the Hamas cell with the plutonium." Gibbs informed.

"Then Mossad grabs them." Tony added in understanding.

"Only he's a little behind schedule and their getting nervous. Deputy director David is up there right now, ordering Ziva to cooperate." Gibbs explained and the three looked up the staircase.

"Is he her daddy?" Tony asked.

"I don't know I didn't ask." Gibbs answered and headed towards the labs, the other two agents following closely behind.

...

Down in Abby's lab Gibbs had everyone gathered for one last effort to go after Ari as the suspect. They owed it to Kate.

"Do you know why Ari left his brass behind?" Gibbs asked, in an interrogative manor. Ziva huffed in slight annoyance.

"You are a broken tape Gibbs." She joked with a head shake.

"Record. Broken record." Tony corrected from behind her. Gibbs leaned down to look at the line of shells that Ari had left behind.

"A sniper's brass is like a signature. That's why a sniper always polices his brass. La Poa, 308 casings, boat tail, moly coated full jacket bullet." Gibbs listed off.

"That's what you shot as a marine sniper. At Mossad we use Sierra 6.5 hollow points." Ziva commented easily. This got everyone's attention.

"How do you know what I shot Ms. David?" Gibbs asked her, standing up to look her in the eye. Abby stared at her accusingly while Director Shepherd glanced over in amusement. Gibbs had got her. Ziva glanced around, not making eye contact with the agents in the room.

"She profiled you for Ari." Jenny answered.

"Not just the boss, that's how you knew where I was born and went to school." Tony added accusingly.

"And how he knew about my brother. I never mentioned Devon during any of our missions." Claire added, a glare set on her face.

"Ari's missions involved NCIS. As his controller I did dossiers on everyone he might interact with." Ziva explained defensively.

"Director, Abbs, Claire, Tony…..give me a minute alone with Ms. David please." Gibbs asked. They all shot him curious looks but eventually left the room. Ziva huffed and put her hands on her hips as Gibbs started to circle her.

"You found out about my first wife and my daughter?" Gibbs asked in a hushed tone, close to her ear. Ziva looked at him a moment before glancing away in slight guilt.

"Yes…I'm sorry." She told him honestly.

"Then we know why Ari is shooting at women then don't we?" he prodded. Knowing that Ari would want to shatter Gibbs by emphasizing his greatest heartache. Ziva thought about this but she wasn't giving in just yet.

"If he wanted you to know that he is the sniper then why didn't he use your rifle…an M40?" she challenged.

"That Bravo 51 he fired is called a 'Kate'." Gibbs spat at her. Ziva's eyes widened in understanding and glanced away quickly. Gibbs watched as she paced around the room, her hand covering her mouth as this information sunk in.

"I still don't believe Ari is the sniper." She told him reluctantly. Gibbs started to speak up but Ziva continued before he could say anything.

"But what you have said should be investigated." She admitted.

"Well once the media gets wind of this there's going to be fear." Gibbs told her pointedly.

"Are you threatening to go to the media?" she asked with a curious glare.

"No, not me. This can stay between Mossad and NCIS." He told her.

"In exchange for what? Setting up Ari for you to kill?" she asked incredulously.

"No. setting me up for Ari, and if I'm wrong about this then he won't show up." Gibbs answered.

"And if you're right?" she asked quietly.

"Then I'm counting on you to back me up." He implored, staring her down. She stared at him curiously.

...

At Gibbs' house, he turned the upstairs light on and walked down the dark stairwell to the basement. Walking to the other side, he turned on the workbench light and set down the bouquet of roses he had gotten for Kate earlier. Unlatching a hidden shelf, he pulled out the drawer to reveal that his rifle was missing.

"You looking for this Jethro?" a deep voice asked from behind him. Gibbs whipped around to see Ari, casually sitting in a chair up against the wall across from him. Gibbs sighed.

"I want you to know, I wish I didn't have to shoot Caitlyn." Ari told him. Gibbs set down his keys and looked over at the man, a resigned look on his face.

"Why did you?" he asked.

"To cause you pain." Ari answered.

"I piss you off that much?" he asked.

"Not you…my father." Ari told him after a moment. Gibbs gave him an odd look.

"You have the misfortune of reminding me of the bastard." Ari explained. Gibbs nodded in understanding.

"Aha….he didn't marry your mother." Gibbs suggested, starting to get the picture.

"That's what makes me a bastard, not him." Ari countered.

"From the moment of my birth he groomed me to be one thing. His mole in Hamas. Sent me Edenborough to become a doctor, so I could work in the Gaza camps alongside my mother. When he had her killed I had no trouble turning to Isakson." Ari told him.

"You don't really believe your father had your mother killed." Gibbs asked. Ari tilted his head.

"It was a retaliatory Israeli strike. On the day I was in Tel Aviv, visiting him. After decades of planning he had his mole in Hamas. He never knew how much I hated him. I wish I could see his face when he realizes he created not a mole… but a monster." Ari pondered darkly. Gibbs watched him as the rifle twitched in his hands.

"Eager to strike at the heart of Mossad and Israel." Ari added.

"Yea I almost feel sorry for ya." Gibb told him casually.

"And I for you." Ari admitted. Without another word he stood up and began to walk towards Gibbs. Gibbs walked away slowly, so his back was towards the stairs, Ari facing him.

"When Ziva told me you were placing flowers on the roof where Caitlyn died, I couldn't believe it. It was such a romantic touch, almost too good to pass up…..almost" Ari told him with a sinister smile. Gibbs nodded silently.

"Why did you?" he asked.

"I need you to commit suicide with your own rifle." Ari answered with a head nod.

"You never gave me enough credit in our game. I knew it was a trap before you asked Ziva to cover you. You'd never trust Ziva." Ari told him with a smug smile. Gibbs held back a smug look of his own but Ari didn't notice.

"…and you need to kill me, to taste the sweetness of revenge." Ari finished. He raised up the rifle to aim at Gibb's head. Gibbs turned away and held his hand up.

"I've killed enough men in my life Ari. It's going to be just as sweet watching you die." Gibbs told him as he sat down in a chair, staring back at him with no fear. He held his hands up, egging Ari to shoot.

"sorry to spoil your…*BANG*….. before Ari could finish a shot rang out, making him crumple to the floor. Gibbs looked up the stairs as Ziva slowly made her way down. With a satisfied grin Gibbs stood up to walk over to the dead man with a new hole in his head. He leaned down to pick up his rifle to put it up. Ziva approached slowly, a sad look across her face, which had Gibbs thinking.

"His father is a deputy director in Mossad?" he asked her. She nodded blinking away tears. Gibbs stared at her as an understanding expression began to cross his face.

"Not David..." he hoped. She nodded again with a sniff.

"Yes…..he's my half-brother." She admitted. Gibbs looked down in pain for her. She had just killed her own brother for him. Without a word her reached over and squeezed her hand on comfort before leaving her alone with him to let her grieve for her brother. He had a funeral to get to.

...

In Indiana everyone was gathered around for Special Agent Todd's funeral. It was in a beautiful grove of trees, the sun shining despite the mood. Tony was next to pass the flag covered casket. He laid a rose on top, his mind flashing back to the party when they shared a sibling moment with her giving advice about Claire. He would forever treasure the moments they shared, the good and the bad. Next was Ducky, as he laid a rose down he remembered her heart wrenching expression as Tony and Claire were whisked away when the letter was opened at the beginning of the plague episode. He would miss the dear hearted girl that brought a motherly aspect to the team. McGee was next, a scene of him hoisting a dress clad Kate onto his shoulders to climb in an open window. Kate was always someone he could look up to and confide in when Tony got to be too much. Claire followed behind the boys, lying down her rose she thought back to the night when he was distraught over her new found feelings for Tony. She was there and didn't discourage her from her thought, if anything she was supportive and just what she needed in that moment. Abby set down her rose, thinking of when Kate was willing to wear the autopsy hat she had colored on for her as a bet. Kate was always up for the crazy things Abby suggested. Jenny Shepherd was next. Finally, Gibbs set down his rose. He stared at the box, imagining Kate underneath holding her rosary beads and wearing her medal of honor around her neck.

 ****** ** _She looked over at him with a smirk._**

 ** _"You're late for my funeral Gibbs." She scolded, holding back a smile. Gibbs smiled back at her before sobering his expression._**

 ** _"Sorry Kate." He whispered before joining the team_** _._ ******

As the team readied to leave Abby turned on her tape recorder, jazz music ringing out just as she promised. She smiled as she began to walk away from the funeral, knowing Kate would have loved it. As they walked Gibbs came and put his arm around her walking side by side. Jenny walked in the middle with Doctor Mallard on her arm, the gentleman that he was. Tony had his arm around Claire and McGee walked on her other side. The group of seven walked away, hearts heavy but relieved that her killer was brought to justice.


	32. Chapter 32

[Drunk and Jealous] 

**3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The team had been given a couple weeks leave after everything had been sorted out with Kate's funeral and her case. Even though there was some protest, everyone knew that they needed the time to grieve for their friend and get on with the healing process. However, this didn't mean that they spent all that time apart from each other. Tony and Claire used the time to spend most of the break in one another's company to help deal with the emptiness that had made a place in their hearts. In those days Claire's strong feelings for Tony only grew as she spent alone time with him. Nearing the end of the leave Tony had opted for a day out around the city, the café being their first stop.

"Do you think Gibbs puts something special in his coffee?" Tony asked randomly. Claire smiled in amusement as she watched him peer down at his own cup of caffeine.

"No, I'm pretty sure he drinks it black." She told him in a 'duh' tone. This was common knowledge to anyone that knew the older agent. Tony shook his head and gave her a thoughtful look.

"Not the regular stuff…..like maybe he puts some booze in it….or special vitamins that gives him his unhuman like instincts or something." He rattled off, staring at the far wall as his mind reeled with possibilities. Claire laughed.

"I think you're going a bit stir crazy." She told him with a wince. If she was honest she couldn't blame him, not working was driving her nuts.

"Yea that's probably it…I can't wait to get back." He told her honestly. The two paused as they thought about how different work would be now. It would be a while before they could completely get past it.

"How are you by the way?" she asked him, watching his reaction carefully. Tony wasn't one for confronting his feelings.

"Fine." he told her, obviously lying. Claire gave him a look.

"Or I will be anyway." He amended. She reached across the table and grabbed his hand comfortingly, rubbing circles with her thumb. Tony brought his eyes up to meet her own.

"It'll be ok. We'll get back to work and it'll get easier." She assured. He wasn't really sure if she was trying to convince him or herself, but either way it helped. Suddenly Tony's cell rang and he reached for it, taking his hand out of hers. Claire watched him intently as he answered and started conversing with the other person. Her smiled dropped hesitantly as his brightened even more, talking about making plans for the day. As he hung up she quickly fixed her features, turning them back to neutral.

"Who was that?" she asked casually. Tony chuckled in amazement before looking up at her, a new light in his eyes.

"That was Paula Cassidy, she's in town and wants to meet up." He told her, smiling broadly the whole time. Claire's smile dropped. Of course, he would get excited about her coming in, Tony was still hung up on her which bothered Claire more than she would have liked.

"Today?" she asked hesitantly. That is after all what he had been suggesting on the phone.

"Yea, you don't mind right? I mean this is probably the only time I'll see her before we got back to work." Tony quickly explained, already picking up his jacket. Claire's heart constricted painfully. He had already made up his mind and just wanted her permission so he wouldn't feel guilty. A large part of her wanted to tell him 'no' since this was their day together, but then again it wasn't like she was his girlfriend or anything. In his mind she was just a friend…and just a friend wouldn't get so possessive.

"Yea, sure go ahead." She agreed, plastering a strained smile on her face. Tony didn't notice and hopped up eagerly.

"Thanks you're the best!" he adamantly told her as he dashed out the door. Claire sighed and stared down at the cup in her hands. She had to quickly get a grip on herself with this whole relationship thing. Tony was not hers so she shouldn't act like he was. After another half hour of self-pity, Claire decided to call up Abby. Some girl time was in order.

...

Later that night the two of them had headed out to do a bit of clubbing before the work week hit. The last time they had done so was with Kate quite a few months ago. Pushing the feelings of hurt aside they strode in, ready for the major hangovers that were headed their way. Inside the two easily made their way to the bar, much to the tender's delight. After ordering their drinks the man brought them back and gave it to them 'on the house', eyeing Claire up the whole time. Not that she noticed. During the time she had to herself, Claire had dwelt on what Tony had done. In all honestly it had made her mad. How dare he blow her off like that, it was just hurtful and rude. This of course did nothing but add to her growing jealously of Agent Cassidy. As she thought hard on all of this Abby leaned over towards her.

"He's cute." Abby whispered impishly after the bartender had walked off to cater to another customer. Claire glanced at her in confusion.

"Who?" she asked. Abby rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"The cute bartender who was eyeing you up." She elaborated. Claire looked over at the man, who was incidentally smiling over at her. He turned back to his work.

"He's ok I guess." She admitted nonchalantly. Abby gave her an odd look.

"Claire he is totally into you." She pressed with a surprised smile. Claire rolled her eyes.

"Just because the drinks were on the house does not mean he was into me." Claire defended, sipping her drink slowly. She actually wanted to remember part of the night so drinking had to be slow.

"Is there anyone else that you think would be better than hot tamale over there?" Abby asked, looking at her curiously. She knew full well who would turn Claire's head and it wasn't the bartender. Claire scoffed innocently.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She dismissed, looking anywhere but at her friend.

"Well, he's tall, dark, and obnoxious." Abby joked, watching her friend's reactions. Claire shot her an unamused look.

"Yea well that's not going to happen." She told Abby with a bitter undertone. This got Abby's attention.

"What makes you say that?" she prodded curiously. Something obviously had her worked up.

"Because I don't have short, blonde hair and the last name Cassidy." Claire muttered, draining the rest of her drink.

"Cassidy? You're all upset because you're jealous of Paula?" Abby asked. She watched in amusement as Claire groaned, holding her head in her hands.

"I know it's so juvenile" she whined. The two of them giggled at her pitifulness.

"What made you think of her, isn't she still on ship or something?" Abby continued, sipping her drink as she listened.

"Apparently she's in town now." Claire muttered, absently running her finger around the edge of her glass. Abby nodded in understanding, but Claire wasn't done.

"I'm usually not this bad. If the jerk hadn't have dropped all our plans to run after her, it would have been fine." She ranted, reaching for the next drink that had been prepared for her. She shot the man a thankful smile, which he easily returned. Abby watched the two in amusement but almost spit out her drink at the last comment.

"Wait, he ditched you when you two had already made plans?" she asked incredulously. Claire nodded.

"That bastard." Abby gasped seriously, making Claire laugh.

"But seriously, don't worry about Paula. You're not the type to be the psycho jealous admirer." Abby told her, a gently expression on her face.

"Yea, I know. This is just the first time I've felt this strongly about someone and the whole violent jealously feeling is new to me." Claire admitted. Abby patted her back in reassurance.

"Just don't let it get to you. After all it's not Paula's fault." She reminded. Claire sighed but nodded reluctantly.

"I guess I should forgive him then too huh?" Claire asked.

"Who said anything about that? He still ditched you when you two had plans. You stay mad at him as long as you want, I'll even help you." Abby suggested with a broad smile. Claire laughed even louder and held her glass up for a toast.

"Here, here!" she cheered as they tapped glasses. The two spent the night in much happier spirits now that the air had been cleared. If only Tony knew what was coming for him the next time they saw him.

...

In the wee hours of the morning, Claire got out of the taxi and made her way up to her house. The night had been a long one and Claire was more than ready to be in her bed. As she reached the stairs she stopped abruptly, almost tripping over the person that was sitting on them.

"Tony what are you doing here?" she asked blearily. Even though she wasn't blackout drunk, she was still a bit buzzed. Tony stood up quickly.

"Why are you out so late?" he asked instead. Claire blinked hard and made her way around him tiredly.

"I asked you first." She weakly countered as she unlocked the door. Tony watched her silently as she walked in the house, leaving the door open for him to follow.

"I don't know…..I just needed some company." He told her quietly, shutting the door behind him. Claire huffed out a sigh and plopped herself ungracefully on the couch in the living room. Tony remained silent as he watched her, suddenly unsure if he should be here or not. Claire looked over at him and patted the spot beside her.

"Come on, tell me what happened." She urged, sounding much like a tired mother talking to her troubled child. He walked over and sat down obediently.

"Paula broke it off." Tony told her after a few minutes of playing with his fingers. Claire blinked, trying to keep her unstable emotions organized. Maybe her buzz was a bit more than she had thought.

"You were dating?" she asked, trying to clarify the situation. Tony shook his head.

"Not really…..I'm not really sure what our relationship would be categorized as but I did like her." he admitted. She nodded, starting to get the picture.

"Well then I guess there's not much you can do about that." She told him gently. Tony glanced at her in confusion. Claire caught the hurt look in his eyes and shook her head, thinking of a better way to rephrase it.

"What I meant was that you should give her some space. I know you and when you genuinely like someone you can be relentless." Tony didn't correct her, but listened intently as she continued.

"I know you like her but just let this play out and see what happens. Who knows, maybe she'll come back to you and life will be all good again." She told him, wanting to choke on her words. Loving someone meant that you wanted them happy no matter what. And right now his happiness came from Paula and not her. That and she was too tired to fight right now.

"Thanks Claire." He smiled at her gently. Claire nodded and rubbed her forehead tiredly.

"So why are you out this late?" he asked curiously, noticing her distracted state.

"Why does it matter to you? You had other plans so I made some more of my own." She told him, getting a bit defensive at the end. Tony raised his brows in surprise at her tone.

"What happened? Did I do something wrong?" he asked her in confusion. She turned to glare at him. Was he kidding?

"Just forget about it, I'm in no mood to be mad at you right now." She muttered as she stood up. Claire teetered a little bit, causing Tony to jump up and steady her.

"Wow you got hammered huh?" he asked her in a joking tone. Claire blinked hard again and pointed up at him.

"I'm not hammered….just a little bit of a buzz." She countered pointedly. Tony smirked at her. She was starting to sway and surely would have stumbled around had he not been there.

"Ok then buzz, let's get you to bed." He told her, leading her down the hallway.

"Is that supposed to be some pickup line? Cause I don't care how cute you are, I am not sleeping with you while under the influence." She told him defiantly. Tony chuckled and glanced at her in amusement. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she processed what she had just said.

"That came out wrong. Maybe I'm more drunk than I thought." She rambled tiredly, letting Tony drag her around her house. He watched her intently with a small smile as she looked up at him helplessly.

"Hi Tony." She mumbled with a goofy smile. He laughed, she was going to have a major hangover tomorrow for sure.

"Hi Claire, go get ready for bed." He instructed, handing her the pajamas that were on the dresser. She muttered a 'kay' and obediently went to get dressed in her bathroom. Tony watched her go and stood in her room listening for any indication that she needed help. However, she fared just fine and eventually padded out of the bathroom. She wobbled over and unceremoniously flopped onto her bed with a giggle. Tony smirked and headed towards her.

"Under the covers is best Claire." He scolded playfully as he helps maneuver her limp body under the covers. Once he had wrested her in she contentedly dug her face into her pillow.

"Tony." She called out quietly. Tony sat down next to her.

"Yes?" he asked making sure she wasn't getting sick or anything.

"Can you get me a drink?" she asked looking up at him with big eyes.

"Water?" he asked, already making his way across the floor.

"No! Scotch." She ordered. Tony paused and looked back at her with a smile.

"I think you've had enough alcohol." He countered gently, walking back to her side. Claire whined.

"But the bartender let me have whatever I wanted. And some of it was free." She argued childishly. Tony rose an eyebrow.

"He gave you free drinks?" he asked incredulously.

"Yea, he was cute and Abby said he had the hots for me." She mumbled into her pillow. Had she been sober she would have noticed the off put expression Tony had across his face.

"Did she now?" he asked lowly, not liking the idea of another man hitting on her.

"Yea but it's ok because he wasn't being mean to me." She chirped pointedly. Tony was confused.

"Are you saying someone else was mean to you?" he asked, immediately hopping up to run after whoever it was.

"Yea you were." She pouted. His expression dropped to one of utter confusion.

"How was I mean to you?" he asked, this time kneeling down to look at her face. She glared at him tiredly.

"I'm not telling." Claire pulled the covers over her face. Tony shook his head with a smile and gently pried them out of her hands so he could look at her again.

"Oh come on Claire, I'm sorry?" he told her as more of a question, hoping that would make her open up. She glared at him again.

"If you don't know what it is then don't apologize. I'm mad at you." She glared again. Tony sighed and looked down in frustration. What had he done? Claire was a pretty truthful drunk and he just wanted to know what he did that bothered her.

"Claire why are you mad at me?" he asked again but when he looked at her she was fast asleep. The alcohol had finally caught up with her. Knowing he wasn't going to get her back any time that night he simply readjusted the covers around her shoulders. After a moment of hesitation he leaned down to kiss her forehead, knowing full well that she would never remember it. Making his way out of her room he glanced back one more time before shutting the door and heading out of the house. On the way he ran in to Devon who was woken up at the sound of voices. He had watched silently as Tony took care of his sister and couldn't help but smile as they passed.

"I haven't seen her this hammered in a while. What did you do?" Devon joked, catching Tony by surprise. Tony sighed and shrugged, truly not understanding her attitude in the slightest.

"If only I knew, man." he muttered. Devon chuckled and wished him luck before letting him head on home. Tony knew he had work in the morning and needed his sleep for the long day. Hopefully he would pry the reason she was upset out of her tomorrow. As he drove home he started to mentally prepare for that feat. It was much harder getting Claire to open up when she was sober.


	33. Chapter 33

[Mind Games 1]

 **Claire's POV:**

The next morning my alarm went off at what I thought was an ungodly hour. In reality it was the time I normally get up for work. Due to the pounding in my head from last night, it took me a moment to get my body awake enough to move my hand over to stop the incessant beeping from my clock. With a yawn I sat up and stared blankly at my comforter. _I was in my bed…when did I get in bed? I remember most everything from the club…..then I came home to Tony…..Tony? Why was Tony here?_ I lifted up my blankets and glanced down at my form in alarm before breathing a sigh of relief. _I was still clothed. I mean come on its Tony who is always on the prowl and me who's head over heels. I don't think he would ever take advantage cause he's too good for that but I might have instigated something. It's not like I could remember what I said or anything. Ok, back to the problem at hand….. Tony…Tony was upset about Paula?_ The haze surrounding my memory was starting to thicken. _Ok so I consoled Tony on my couch and then…..from there it goes pretty much blank. I may have said something about being mad at him but I can't remember. God, I hope I didn't say anything stupid or profess my feelings for him_. My eyes widened in alarm. I feel like I would have known if I did that or at least Tony would have done something about it. I picked up my phone and checked my messages. _Ok, so nothing from Tony…I think I'm in the clear._ With an exhausted huff I dragged myself out of bed and headed for the coffee machine. Once that was going I walked back to my bathroom to run a hot shower in hopes to rid myself of the slight hangover I had.

...

Walking into work I was actually in a decent mood. My hangover was practically nonexistent once I got going and I actually had something to do with my life. I love vacations but like Tony, I could easily get stir crazy. I would just walk in and everything would be back to normal. Well…more than it has been anyway. With a small smile on my face I glanced around to spot Tony at his desk. McGee must have gone out for coffee. As I approached the bullpen I spotted a familiar blonde figure in the middle of the isle. And suddenly my mood plummeted. Paula Cassidy looked up and sent me a friendly smile. Brushing past her I attempted to return the gesture. None of this was necessarily her fault so I shouldn't be acting immature and rude. However, one question kept running through my mind on repeat. _Why the heck was she here?! I wonder how Tony was handling this?_ Without overreacting, I put my stuff up and turned to look at the mugshot that was plastered up on the big screen.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Up in the bullpen a mugshot of a serial killer, Kyle Boone was up on the big screen by Gibb's desk.

"I will never forget the day that Gibbs caught this psycho." Agent Paula Cassidy commented, staring at the picture.

"You knew Gibbs back then?" Tony asked from his desk. Paula gave him a 'really?' look, her arms crossed over her chest. Claire smirked to herself at the unintentional dig. Basically, Tony had called her old.

"No, I was a junior at Georgetown." She told him in a 'duh' tone before turning back to the photo.

"For two years every woman in DC was afraid to go out at night." She explained to them. Tony walked up to stand closely behind her. Claire noticed from her desk and clenched her jaw.

"Must have been tough." Tony commented quietly.

"Yea, you have no idea." Paula agreed, glancing back up at him.

"I actually owe Gibbs for the first full night of sleep that I got in college." She added. Tony nodded and hummed.

"I meant dating." He corrected. Paula shot him a confused look before scrunching it up in realization.

"Yes, yes. Dating was tough." She joked dryly.

"You need any help with that now Paula?" Tony asked, leaning down towards her suggestively. Claire rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"No thank you Tony, I've been there and I've done that." She told him, gesturing vaguely towards him. Tony chuckled sarcastically. Paula joined in smugly.

"Ouch." Claire whispered. Tony shot her an unamused look.

"Your problem with woman is where you're focused." Claire told him, making him slightly drop his carefree smile. If only he knew the extra meaning behind her words.

"Where?" he asked. Paula smiled up knowingly at him and hummed in thought as she reached into her bag before setting a small compact in his hand.

"Here, it's a mirror." She told him. Claire peered at the small case in his hand and shook her head. That was no mirror. Tony bit his lip and reached to open it. He knew it wasn't a mirror too.

"Quick question, the pink ones?..." he trailed off as he opened the case full of birth control pills for all to see and backed away from the wide eyed agent.

"….do they taste like strawberry starburst?" he asked her jokingly. Paula quickly followed, getting tired of the games.

"I thought you said you weren't seeing anyone?" he continued as he reached his desk.

"I'm not." She told him. Tony raised a brow, not believing her. Paula lunged for the case but Tony quickly lifted it out of her reach.

"It's for my…..complexion." she told him dismissively.

"Complexion got a name?" he asked teasingly. Paula closed her eyes, keeping a calm smile on her face.

"Tony you're so gonna go there.." she muttered and lunged again, Tony moving his arm backwards yet again.

"Just tell me it's not another agent cause I really don't think I.." before he could finished Claire walked up behind him, grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. Paula wasn't the only one that wanted him to stop. Tony's eyes widened in alarm and he grunted as he was bent over his desk with his arm pinned behind his back. Paula watched the two with a wary expression. Claire played rough sometimes but this seemed deliberately painful. Tony yelled in pain as he hit the desk and let out a high pitched whine as she pushed down harder. He glanced back at her incredulously. Was this part of her being mad at him? Claire remained stone faced as she held him down.

"His name is Bob and he's a lawyer." Paula told him easily, as she leaned down next to his head. Tony nodded stiffly.

"Coincidence, I hate lawyers." He told her in a pained whisper.

"I know so do I, that's why it's merely a sexual relationship." She whispered back with a nod. Tony thought for a moment.

"Well, what would that make me?" he asked in confusion.

"A big mistake." She immediately answered. Claire almost felt sorry for him, but then again she was having great pleasure in punishing him. McGee walked up behind them and watched in amusement, coffee in hand. From his point of view, it almost looked like his teammates were in a very compromised position while Paula was watching. Claire pressed his arm upward, making Tony groan.

"If you don't give her the birth control pills, I am going to break your arm." Claire threatened over the groaning man as Paula reached over to grab the case. Once she got them Claire continued to hold his arm and turned to look at McGee.

"I got the coffee." He told them nervously.

"Have you been there long?" Paula asked him suspiciously. Claire casually held Tony down across his desk and took her cup from McGee with her free hand.

"Uh….long enough to say no ma'am agent Cassidy." He quickly answered smiling stiffly at her. This whole situation made it clear that Claire wasn't holding Tony down just to help Paula. Something else was going on that he didn't want to get caught up in.

"Ok good answer." She sighed.

"Thank you." She told Tony and Claire finally let go of his arm. McGee set the coffee on Tony's desk in front of him. However, he didn't reach for it. Instead eyes widened in pain again as he slowly stood up and tried to get feeling back in his arm.

"I let her do that." He croaked out, trying to maintain his pride. McGee smirked knowingly and handed Paula her coffee, keeping his own in the cup holder.

"Thank you." She told McGee. Tim nodded and glanced over to look at the screen.

"Who's that?" he asked no one in particular. Paula's eyebrows rose she and gave him a shocked look.

"Kyle Boone?" she asked him incredulously.

"He's a notorious serial killer. Terrorized the DC area in the 90's come on Probie." Tony scolded. McGee walked over towards the screen.

"22 women went missing and 5 bodies were found." Claire added.

"The guy only made one mistake." Tony told him.

"He killed a petty officer." Claire finished, pointing at McGee before sipping her coffee.

"Did Gibbs catch him?" McGee asked in interest.

"He's scheduled for a government sanctioned dirt nap on Saturday." Tony informed him.

"He wants to talk to Gibbs before they flip the switch." Claire added in explanation as to why his picture was there.

"Why?" he asked, glancing at them momentarily.

"Claims he's gonna tell him where the bodies are." Tony answered, not fully believing that was going to happen. Gibbs came walking into the room and glared at the picture.

"What the hell is that doing on my screen?" he asked and shoved McGee out of the way so he could get to his desk. Claire and Tony shared a slightly frightened look. Gibbs looked ready to kill someone.

"Uh….wh….I didn't put it there." McGee stuttered.

"Who did McGee?" Gibbs asked, staring at the Probie icily.

"Probie, let me handle this." Tony warned before Tim could say anything. Gibbs looked over at him coldly. Tony took a nervous breath.

"Boss….. she did it." Tony pointed accusingly at Paula with a resigned sigh. Claire bit her lip, sharing a smirk with Tony. She would never admit out loud that Tony was throwing some digs at the other agent. It was oddly satisfying. Tony's smirk morphed into a small smile as he noticed she was being civil towards him, but it was short lived. Once Claire picked up on what she was doing she swiftly turned her face away from him, dropping back into her cold demeanor. Tony frowned. Meanwhile, Paula rolled her eyes and shot Gibbs an apologetic expression. Gibbs turned away from her to get to his desk. He spotted her purse and coat on the corner of it and threw them off onto the floor.

"We heard you were interviewing…." She trailed off and stared at her things on the ground. Paula glanced at the team, hoping for some assistance but they all just flitted their eyes away from her. She gave Gibbs a subtle look and bent down to pick it up. Tony took this moment to lean backwards and stare at her butt while she was distracted. Claire glared and pinched his side hard. Tony jerked away from her, rubbing his sore skin with a pout. What was her problem?

"….Kyle Boone and thought we might be providing backup." Paula continued, shouldering her purse.

"You heard wrong agent Cassidy, I'm not interviewing anyone." Gibbs told her dismissively.

"Oh then you might want to let the governor of Virginia know since SECNAV has him waiting in MTAC for your call." Paula quipped. Gibbs looked up the stairs before turning to her and looking at Tony in annoyance. She was starting off on Gibb's bad side. He licked his lips before getting up to walk up the stairs.

"Find her a desk." he muttered to Tony.

"Is that one?" Paula asked, pointing to Kate's empty desk.

"No." Claire immediately told her.

"No, it's taken." Gibbs added. Paula huffed out a breath as he disappeared up the stairs.

"A whole week of TAD with Gibbs I can smell the fun already." She told the others sarcastically.

"Yea well it's not all the pleasant for us either." Claire snapped back with a glare. Paula looked at her in slight surprise at her tone. With a sigh Claire shook her head and walked off down the hallway. Agent Cassidy looked back at the remaining agents questioningly.

"It's been a tough month." McGee muttered apologetically as he sorted through paperwork.

"Right now Gibbs pretty much hates everyone Paula." Tony told her, a sad tinge in his voice.

"And Claire hates me." He muttered and he started down the hallway to follow after her.

 **Claire's POV:**

I walked into the women's bathroom and leaned against the counter. _I had to get a grip on my emotions._ With everything going on it just piled up inside me and Tony wasn't helping anything. Why didn't it ever occur to him that maybe I liked his company and it hurt that he was devoting every waking moment to the blonde in our office. And now I had to spend a whole week with her too. I rubbed my face with a groan and looked into the mirror. However, a familiar figure was standing silently behind me, making me nearly jump out of my skin.

"God, Tony what are you doing here?!" I asked, placing a hand on my chest to calm myself and took a deep breath. Tony smirked but didn't say anything. With an eye roll I turned back to the mirror and wiped my eyes, trying to ignore his presence.

"You know if someone comes in and sees you here, we'll be the talk of the building and not in a good way." I told him, trying to get him out of here. Tony nodded in thought before reaching over and locking the door.

"There, now no one will be coming in to interrupt us." He answered with a smug smile. I finally turned to look at him. I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back against the counter.

"What do you want Tony?" I asked irritably. He didn't say anything but just grazed his eyes over my face with a worried expression.

"Something is eating you and I want to know what." He told me sincerely.

"I'm fine, nothing is eating at me." I countered, not even trying to make it a believable lie. Tony shook his head.

"No, you're not. All the physical abuse and digs at Paula are not typical for you." He told him, pointing at me accusingly. I stared at him stoically, trying to crush the easy smile on his face.

"Is this about something I did…..like did I offend you in some way. Is that why you're so mad at me?" he asked, realizing that I wasn't going to spill so easily. My face immediately hardened even more.

"Ok, so I did do something?" he asked, already knowing the answer. I watched him warily as he walked towards me and placed his hands on my shoulders, looking down at me with a soft expression.

"I'm sorry." He told me.

"For what?" I asked, raising my brow questioningly. Tony glanced around nervously.

"For whatever it was that I did to upset you?..." he told me with a wince. _He doesn't even know!_ This made me mad. I scoffed at him before shoving his hands off of me harshly. Tony watched with a stunned expression.

"You don't even know! Tony, if you don't know what you did then don't bother apologizing just to appease me." I spat at him angrily. Tony tried to reach out for me again but I jerked away, my arms still crossed over my chest.

"But if you would just tell me then I would know." He reasoned pleadingly. I almost gave in at the look he was giving me, but this wasn't something to just brush off. He had to realize how serious this was to me. I am not the type of person to just be brushed aside without second thought.

"Yea well if our friendship meant anything to you then I wouldn't have to tell you." I insisted before unlocking the door and walking out, leaving Tony behind with a hurt expression on his face.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

After Gibbs had left Paula took her place at the desk on the other side of a small divider wall behind McGee. She was trying to adjust her chairr, but not having much luck. She considered asking Claire, who's desk was across and slightly diagonal from her, but decided it was best to let her cool off for a bit. Paula realized that she seemed to be touchy subject and until she figured out why, decided it would be in her best interest to steer clear of Claire. As she continued fiddling with the levers Paula's eyes widened when she launched up in the seat. Claire watched her out of the corner of her eye, trying to contain a satisfied smirk as she did so. Even if she wasn't cross with the blonde agent there was no denying that this was funny to watch. Paula pulled on the lever again and it jerked down a small bit. Tony watched curiously as her head launched back up above the divider and rapidly disappeared again as her chair dropped her to the lowest setting with a thud. McGee glanced around curiously as she grunted when she hit. Resigned, Agent Cassidy sat there with head in her hands that were propped up against her knees which currently were bent up to her waist area. Claire watched as Tony sauntered over towards Paula with an amused grin. He chuckled as he sat on the edge of the small desk.

"Well look on the bright side." He told her.

"What is the bright side?" she asked in exasperation. Tony thought for a moment.

"You're only here a week." He suggested. Paula scoffed.

"Why couldn't I sit at Kate's desk?" she asked him seriously. She was not fond of the idea of staying at this dumpy desk for the rest of the week.

"Mostly because it's still Kate's desk." he told her before glancing down to fiddle with the notepad in his hand. Paula was quiet for a moment. Kate's death was known as a touchy subject for the whole team and just because she wasn't going to fraternize with Tony didn't mean that she didn't care about him.

"She was a great agent." Paula told him gently. He didn't look up.

"Yea." He agreed, his jaw clenching.

"How are you handling it?" she asked him cautiously.

"Same way I handle everything…I try not to think about it." He admitted with mock chipperness. Paula pursed her lips and nodded.

"And when that doesn't work?" she prodded.

"There's always junk food." He quipped.

"That doesn't sound very healthy Tony." She scolded gently.

"Well it's not like I do it alone. Claire usually helps." He defended. This made Paula pause for a moment. He had basically admitted that he let Claire see him at his vulnerable states without second thought. In the time that she was with Tony, she had never gotten that close to him. Tony was a very locked up man emotionally, always hiding behind a mask of cheeriness. She glanced over at the raven haired agent across the way from them. Was Claire, jealous of her spending time with Tony? As Paula pondered on this new information, Tony took her silence as not liking his answer.

"Well it's either that or I start building a boat in my basement." He joked, giving her a sarcastic smile.

"Don't you live in an apartment?" she asked. Tony pointed at her with a nod.

"Now you see my dilemma." He told her. Paula caught a glimpse of Claire's smile, having heard his joke. Tony continued to be oblivious to the connections she was making and stood up to leave but Paula grabbed his wrist before he could. Tony stared down at her.

"If you ever do want to talk about it,…or anything else that bothers you, I'm here for you." She told him with a comforting smile. Perhaps Claire wasn't the only one that was aware of how she truly viewed their relationship. Surely Tony had some type of deeper seeded feelings for Claire, just by the way he interacts with the girl. Tony's eyes lowered and he bit his lip apprehensively.

"You mean that?" he asked seriously.

"Yes of course I mean that." She told him with a nod. Tony next down next to her and sighed.

"Ok…well then let me ask you something." He started apprehensively. Paula watched him with sympathetic eyes, waiting for him to unburden himself.

"What's Bobby like in bed?" he asked seriously. She scoffed and shook her head, despite her grin. And he was back to the mask.

"Kate was right you are truly….truly pathetic DiNozzo." She told him. Tony tilted his head at her, grinning at his accomplishment. Suddenly McGee peaked his head around the barrier.

"Um you two might want to get busy, Gibbs is coming this way and he looks pissed." Tim warned.

"Think he caved to the governor?" Paula asked with a small smile.

"No way" Claire quietly answered so Gibbs wouldn't hear her.

"No way, if Gibbs doesn't want to do something he doesn't." McGee agreed.

"No matter who's asking." Tony added as he watched Gibbs march around to his desk and pull out his weapon. Without a word he started to make his way towards the elevator.

"Where you going boss?" Tony asked, sharing a confused glance with Claire. The four agents all watched him silently.

"Sussex state prison to interview Kyle Boone." Gibbs told him without turning back. Tony and McGee stood up to watch him curiously while Claire's eyes widened.

"Be gone the rest of the day." Gibbs called before he went in. The agents all stared at one another in shock. This was definitely unexpected.

"Yup you three sure have him pegged." Paula taunted sarcastically as she leaned back in her chair.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the prison the detective led Gibbs into the facility that housed those who were on death row. To say Gibbs was pissed to be doing this was quite an understatement.

"We moved Boone to death watch on Monday. That's when he decided he wanted to talk." The man explained. Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"We do things a little bit different here in Virginia. We give them a choice, lethal injection or death by electrocution. Boone is the first one to choose the chair." The detective told him with a disturbed hint to his voice.

"He deserves the worst." Gibbs muttered as they made their way through the cement hallways. A younger man in a suit popped out from one of the work rooms.

"Special Agent Gibbs. I'm Adam O'Neil, Mr. Boone's attorney. I really appreciate you coming." He politely told Gibbs who stared at the man, ignoring the hand that was put out to shake.

"I uh…..I understand your reluctance here." The man began as he put his hand down uncomfortably.

"But I truly believe that my clients intentions are sincere." O'Neil told Gibbs who continued staring at him blankly.

"The day I arrested your client we found two human female tongues in his refrigerator." He deadpanned before walking past the smaller man.

"I'm familiar with the case agent Gibbs." O'Neil told him as he followed.

"Really? Are you familiar with the names of his victims?" Gibbs quipped irritably.

"Look I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here trying to save a man's life." He insisted.

"Boone wants a deal?" Gibbs bristled.

"No, Mr. Boone wants the chair for his crimes. But I'm hoping to get him life in prison." The lawyer told Gibbs as he blocked his path. Gibbs nodded in amusement.

"Good luck with that." He told him sarcastically.

"Agent Gibbs please. I'm just trying to do my job here." The lawyer called, just before Gibbs stepped into the barred room.

"Maybe together we can both help the victims' families find some closure." The lawyer tried again. Gibbs glanced at him in thought.

"Be there Saturday, you'll be there so see them get that." Gibbs told him sternly.

"Right this way sir." The detective gestured for Gibbs to enter the room.

"Well actually against my advice, Mr. Boone has elected to meet with agent Gibbs alone." The lawyer muttered as Gibbs shot him an uninterested stare.

"I'll have a guard out here if you need it." The detective told Gibbs assuredly.

"I won't." Gibbs countered easily. He turned to head towards the cell inside the room. There he stood outside the clear wall as Boone grinned at him with his eyes closed.

"Nice to see you again Jethro." He greeted cheerfully from across the room as he finally opened craze filled eyes.

"I wasn't sure if you'd come but…..here you are." He gestured to Gibbs from where he was sitting on his small cot. Gibbs looked down at his watch impatiently.

"You've got 2 minutes, start talking." He tiredly instructed. Boone analyzed him with a surprised smile.

"You know; you look almost the same." He commented, scooting to the edge of his cot. Gibbs blinked in annoyance and didn't answer. This didn't deter Boone.

"Except the hair….when did it go grey?" he asked casually.

"Where are the bodies?" Gibbs asked instead.

"We'll get to that." Boone dismissed easily.

"There's just a few things I need to ask you first." He continued with an imploring look. Gibbs didn't say anything but continued staring down at him through the glass.

"I guess they showed you my souvenirs?" Boone assumed, indicating the jar of female tongues that the police had gathered that morning, thinking he was going to show them the bodies.

"There weren't 20 in that jar." Gibbs told him.

"Your point?" Boone asked. Gibbs glanced back down at his watch.

"Just thought you were padding your count." He mused. Boone hummed in disappointment.

"Baiting me? Degrading my rep?" Boone shook his head.

"You know that approach never worked on me Jethro." he reminded smugly.

"Minute 38." Gibbs told him, as he glanced back down at his watch.

"Look can't we just chat for a bit? Catch up?...hmmmm?" Boone asked, jerking his arms around innocently. Gibbs continued to stare silently. Boone stood up and walked over towards the window to look at his face.

"How's the wife?" he asked casually. Gibbs didn't react. Boone sighed sympathetically. He was more than content to carry on the conversation by himself.

"She left you, didn't she?" he asked innocently, acting as if the two were old friends.

"I tried to warn you about that, women can't understand men like us." he continued.

"You got what Boone? Three days left….how does it feel?" Gibbs asked him in turn. Boone almost smiled.

"Kinda terrified….weird, considering my former activities." He mused honestly. His eyes drifted to a spot on the floor as he was lost in memories.

"They say it takes up to four minutes to die in the chair…me personally, I'm hoping it takes a lot longer." Gibbs told the man, effectively breaking him out of his trance. Boone shot him a slightly surprised look.

"You really have changed." He mused.

"The old Gibbs would never be this abrupt…did you remarry?" he asked curiously. Gibbs rolled his eyes and looked back at the time.

"You got less than a minute." He warned.

"Ok…can't get to personal then." Boone suggested, knowing the conversation was pointless.

"What about NCIS Special Agent Kaitlyn Todd, can you talk about her?" Boone asked pointedly. Gibbs didn't answer so again Boone kept on talking.

"I saw her picture in the post, they say she was shot by a terrorist?" he asked. Gibbs continued to stare. Boone squinted at him in thought.

"Did you cut back on the caffeine like I told you?" he inquired. Gibbs again didn't answer but instead turned to walk out of the room.

"See you Saturday." He told the man as he headed for the door.

"Come on Gibbs, I was just having some fun with ya." Boone called out innocently. Gibbs pushed on the buzzer to let the door open.

"You can't leave, you're here because you're following orders like a good marine, right Jethro?" Gibbs almost glanced back but stayed forward as the door slid open.

"I'll tell you where they are, where they all are." Boone tried again.

"There's more than 22 Jethro…lots more." He taunted, making Gibbs glanced back at him.

 **Claire's POV:**

Not long after Gibbs had left I saw Ducky arrive in the elevator seeming impatient as he made his way over towards our team area.

"Where is he Timothy?" Ducky asked as he walked in.

"Wh…who?" McGee asked glancing around in confusion.

"Gibbs." Ducky told him in a 'duh' tone. However, before McGee could answer Ducky rushed over towards Tony who was contentedly sucking down a soda and reaching over to grab a slice from the large pizza he had ordered for himself. Part of drowning his sorrows in junk food phase. It honestly kinda reminded me of what girls do with ice cream after a breakup. Just as Tony was putting a piece into his mouth Ducky reached over and wrestled it away from him, making Tony snap at nothing as he protested the action. He frowned as he watched Ducky promptly throw the pizza slice away. McGee and I shared curious looks, and not wanting to miss anything walked over to stand by the desk.

"Do you even know the difference between good and bad cholesterol Tony?" Dr. Mallard scolded. Tony looked up at the man in confusion while he licked off the remaining sauce that was left on his finger.

"No, but I'm assuming it has something to do with taste." He answered thoughtfully.

"Bad, is what came back on your last blood test." Ducky told him.

"Dispose of this." Ducky told Tim, reaching down and handing over the pizza box. I took the opportunity to reach in and start on my own slice of heaven. Tony's eyes widened in betrayal and he pointed at me accusingly.

"Well if I did it's Claire's fault!" he whined. I quirked an eyebrow at him as I chewed.

"How is this my fault? I didn't fail my cholesterol test." I protested, my voice slightly muffled as I had some pizza still in my mouth.

"Yes but you didn't stop me from eating all the bad stuff…..whatever it is. You're a girl, you should know how to tell the difference." He argued childishly. I smirked knowingly.

"Yea, like I would have any power over your choice in food." I told him dryly. Tony glared at me, eating his pizza in front of him tauntingly.

"Well, I paid 16 bucks for that pizza!" Tony protested to Ducky while McGee stood there and looked around the room trying to decide what to do with the pizza.

"You'll thank me when you're my age." Ducky insisted.

"But you eat pizza all the time?" McGee pointed out in confusion, still holding the box.

"Exactly." Ducky agreed. The three of us glanced at each other, it was obvious that none of us were getting it.

"I don't really see the connection here." Tony muttered with a pout, voicing our thoughts.

"Well of course you wouldn't, you're not a doctor." Ducky countered. This left Tony even more confused and he jerked his head around, his eyes flickering in thought. As he sat there trying to understand what just happened, Ducky walked away and went back to the previous topic.

"Where is Gibbs?" he asked us and made his way over to Gibbs' desk. He was one of the only people alive that could get away with doing something like that.

"Sussex State prison, interviewing Kyle Boone." Tony answered. Ducky's head whipped around in slight alarm.

"He said he wasn't going." Ducky stated in confusion. Well yea, that was the original plan. Tony tilted his head in agreement.

"He wasn't." I agreed, watching with slight fascination as Tony opened his mouth obnoxiously wide to sip on his straw again. How did anyone like him function normally in society doing stuff like that?

"Up until the SECNAV ordered him to." McGee elaborated.

"Who's with him?" Ducky asked, making himself comfortable at Gibb's computer.

"No one." McGee told him as if it was obvious. Ducky looked up at us in exasperation.

"Have you any idea the effect that psychopath had on Gibbs 10 years ago?" He asked us seriously.

"Well considering how open Gibbs is about his personal life…..no not a clue." Tony answered, bopping his head to the side for sarcastic effect. It's not like Gibbs tells us everything that's going on….he barely tells us the bare minimum.

"He should not have gone alone." Ducky muttered, much like a parent would in scolding their child.

"Ducky, it's Gibbs I'm sure he'll be fine." I attempted to assure the man.

"That's easy for you to say, you didn't have to live through this the last time." Ducky told me, now searching through Gibb's desk papers. We all quieted suddenly as Tony's desk phone rang.

"DiNozzo…..where?…..yea I got it boss…..we're on our way." He answered as talked with Gibbs on the side.

"Cassidy saddle up, Gibbs wants you in the field. Boone family farm." Tony called over to her as the three of us scrambled around for our gear.

"He wants me?" she asked in surprise. Yea I'm not so sure those were Gibb's exact words but better not tell her that.

"That's what he said let's roll." Tony shouted authoritatively, sinking into his lead agent role. Once Gibbs was gone he always went into super command mode out in the field.

"The difference between Gibbs 10 years ago and now Ducky, we have Gibb's back." Tony assured as Tim and Paula rushed pasted them.

"There's another difference Tony, 10 years ago Gibbs was a….very different man." Ducky told him, his tone softening at the end.

"He was actually meaner?" Tony quipped, hoisting his bag over his shoulder.

"No quite the opposite..." Ducky corrected. As Tony tried to walk past him, Ducky latched onto his arm. Tony looked down at him questioningly as that wasn't typical for Ducky to do.

"….he was a lot like you." Ducky pointed out sincerely and made his way past him, leaving Tony to stand there in deep and confused thought. I tried not to dwell much on what he said, knowing I would look to deep into it. Getting back to the problem at hand I grabbed Tony's bag and yanked him backwards to follow me to the elevator so we could head over to the farm.

 **Claire's POV:**

The ride over to the farm was pretty quiet, filled with a weird tension between Tony, Paula, and I. McGee was just stuck in the middle of it kinda like he always is. After what seemed to be an eternity Tony drove the van up a dirt road which ended in front of a rundown old farmhouse. As we parked, Gibbs made his way out of the house towards us.

"What do we got?" Tony asked him as he walked our way. Gibbs said nothing but walked over to stand in front of Paula. He abruptly pulled out a tape measure and spread it across her shoulders.

"I can save you time Gibbs my measurements are 34…"

"..26,34." Tony finished for her as Gibbs continued to measure her every which way. I turned my head to glare at him incredulously but he ignored me.

"And 120 pounds, I'm right aren't I?" Tony asked her with a knowing look.

"Did you weigh and measure me in my sleep?" Paula asked him, ignoring as Gibbs measured the back of her shoulders. _That's a bit creepy, even for Tony._

"I'm a crime scene sketch expert…..it's what I do." Tony told her in a mysterious whisper. _I guess that would make more sense, but still he had to be super focused in order to notice._

"Plus I always use Claire's measurements as a reference." He added as an afterthought. All four of us paused and whipped around to look at him curiously.

"…you know my measurements..." I asked him with a furrowed brow. Tony turned to look at me like I had asked the dumbest question.

"Um, yea…they're like spot on and I needed a near perfect reference." He told me easily. However, it took him a second to realize what he had implied.

"Did I just say that out loud?" he muttered to himself as I remained frozen in my spot, staring at him like he had grown two heads. _What the heck is that all about. He memorized my measurements and considers them perfect? I'm not really sure how I feel about that. Flattered that he would notice I guess…..but what about his infatuation with Paula?..._ I tried to make eye contact with him but he skirted his eyes away from me and cleared his throat uncomfortably. I was actually thankful for the distraction as I could feel my own blush creeping up onto my face. _That was unexpected._

"You'll do." Gibbs muttered to Paula, breaking me out of my flustered thoughts.

"Gibbs again you have such a way of making a gal feel so special." She muttered dryly. He ignored her and handed her a heavy duty plastic breathing mask.

"Put this on." He told her vaguely.

"McGee."

"Yea boss."

"You might want to wear knee pads." Gibbs suggested as he glanced down at his phone before walking back into the abandoned house. The four of us looked at each other in confusion.

"I feel like Gibbs is playing favorites….what does this make us?" I asked Tony in confusion. He shrugged and without questioning anything else we walked back to open the trunk and grab the gear bags. With Gibbs it's better not to ask.

"Do we even have knee pads?" McGee asked as we each grabbed a sack.

"Equipment inventory is Kate's job you might want to ask….." Tony answered but trailed off with a frown, making us pause our actions. Her loss was still pretty fresh. It was going to be a lot harder to not include her in everyday activities and conversations….it was just habit for us now. He bit the inside of his cheek and turned to leave, and neither of us followed him. We each had our own way of handling it; Tony liked to be alone sometimes. With a sad glance at McGee I grabbed a couple more bags and walked towards the house, passing Paula on the way.

"Do you know what the hell we're doing?" I heard her ask McGee.

"Following Gibb's lead?"

"On what?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"You don't know and that doesn't bother you?" she questioned seriously.

"You get used to it." He quipped. _Ain't that the truth._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"This place must have been gone over a dozen times boss." Tony complained as he and Claire riffled through the empty cupboards in the kitchen of the house. Gibbs had them looking for something, but they didn't really know what yet.

"There's no way there's any bodies in here." Claire added, as the two walked back into the main room.

"We're not looking for any bodies." Gibbs corrected them.

"Boone was raised here by his uncle. His mother was a prostitute, she left town when he was twelve." Gibbs explained to them as he shined a flashlight along the rafters. Tony leaned against the mantle on the fireplace.

"Then what are we looking for?" he asked.

"Proof." Gibbs told him. Gibbs leaned down to look up the chimney where McGee was on his hands and knees serving as a footstool for Paula who was stuck with the unfortunate task of rooting through the soot of the chimney.

"We are definitely the favorites in this situation." Tony muttered to Claire under his breath. She grinned back in agreement, before they both went back to watching the other two get smothered with dirt and whatever else was stuck up there. It truly sucked to be them.

"Boone swears it's here. The only place we didn't look is inside this chimney." Gibbs added as he watched their progress.

"I think I got something." Paula called, through a series of coughs.

"…no, that's just another dead bird." She muttered, letting it fall down and roll out of the chimney pit. McGee grimaced as it hit his head on the way down, bringing another round of soot onto his head.

"Oh that's disgusting." Claire muttered as she stared at it. Tony kneeled down so he could talk to McGee.

"I guess this wasn't in the brochure when you signed up for NCIS Probie." He taunted with a grin. Gibbs and Claire smiled in amusement along with him.

"You know you were wrong earlier." McGee told him, groaning a little from holding Paula up.

"About what?" Tony asked.

"She weighs more than a buck 20." McGee told him. Suddenly a flashlight 'happened' to drop onto his head from above.

"Oh..sorry." Paula innocently told him. McGee groaned in pain.

"She did that on purpose." He whined.

"Well of course she did McGee. You never say anything regarding weight to a woman." Claire scolded knowingly.

"Ok, now I really got something this time." Paula told them, eagerly grabbing something wedged up in the chimney.

"Ok, move aside I'm coming down." She warned, making Claire, Tony and Gibbs take a step back.

"Finally, you could've taken you're…" McGee complained again but was cut off when Paula dropped onto her knees on his back roughly. She chuckled sarcastically.

"My bad." She apologized before crouching to step out of the chimney. She walked over and handed Gibbs a large objects wrapped in cloth.

"It looks like a book." She commented, wiping the soot from her eyes. Tony took pictures of the object while Claire leaned down to help McGee stand up. They all gathered around as Gibbs carefully undid the wrapping to reveal an old scrapbook. He opened it up to the first page which was covered in polaroid pictures of his first victim. Each one differed in the point of his torture, from knocking her out to having her tied to his tree by her hands dead with a heart carved in their bare back. Claire swallowed and glanced away from the images for a moment, just imagining the hell that these girls went through. And the worst part was that the book was very thick with pages, indicating much more than 20 like Boone had professed to. They watched silently as Gibbs flipped through the pages of women.

"Oh there must be 30 pages there." Paula muttered sorrowfully.

"More." Tony corrected quietly. McGee leaned down to get a closer look at one of the pictures.

"What's that carved into their backs?" he asked.

"It's his calling card." Gibbs told him. they all stared down at the heart shaped wound that was on each of the pages.

...

Back at the prison Kyle Boone looked up through his cell to see Gibbs standing at the door of the outer room.

"You find it alright Jethro?" he asked the man casually. Gibbs said nothing but walked up to the windowed wall in front of him.

"I assume you did; you wouldn't be here if you didn't. I don't believe you've met my biographer John Briggs." Boone introduced, looking at the long haired man that was off to the side in the same room as Gibbs. The small man walked up to the investigator excitedly.

"Special agent Gibbs it is a pleasure; I've been trying to schedule an interview with you for months." Briggs eagerly told him. However, Gibbs remained staring icily at Boone, so Briggs was just talking to his back.

"It's time to leave now Briggs." The warden at the entrance of the room called. Briggs rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"I have special permission by the state of Virginia to be here warden." He quipped in annoyance.

"Not anymore." The warden countered calmly.

"The next time you see Boone he'll have a thunderbolt shooting out of his ass." Gibbs told them man, still staring down Boone.

"Hey, I was guaranteed full access for the next three days." Briggs huffed at the warden.

"I believe the warden asked you to leave…..don't make him ask you again." Gibbs countered sternly, finally turning to look at him. Briggs's eyes darted between the three of them as he was obviously put off by the situation.

"I apologize for Agent Gibbs, John; he's finally gotten a glimpse of the world I've been telling him about." Boone placated the man, sending a devious smirk to Gibbs.

"The scrapbook?...wait you found his scrapbook?" Briggs asked with wide eyes as he approached Gibbs. He was seemingly elated to get this new information.

"When will it be released?" he asked, trying to curb his excitement.

"Son if you want to walk out of here on your own power I suggest you leave now." The warden warned, knowing how that was a stupid question to ask Gibbs. Or anyone for that matter. Gibbs turned back to Boone who had flopped back onto his cot in the corner of the cell. Briggs scowled but nodded his head submissively before being led out of the room. The door to the outside shut, once again leaving Gibbs and Boone alone in the room.

"John really is a wonderful writer. You know he spent years trying to understand me." Boone began, more than willing to carry on a one sided conversation just to get under Gibb's skin.

"Unfortunately he just never seemed to measure up." He pouted thoughtfully.

"To who?...Your prostitute mom? Or your father, some hick John with a few extra bucks in his pocket?" Gibbs asked him dryly, looking to get a rise out of the man. Boone crossed his arms under his head and looked at Gibbs with a serious expression.

"Actually I was referring to you Jethro." He answered.

"The shows over. Where's the dumping ground?" Gibbs asked him.

"You show me my scrapbook one last time and I'll show you a map even a marine can follow." Boone immediately answered with a challenging look.

"No, they've suffered enough." Gibbs countered. Boone sighed.

"Well it looks like we're at an impasse." He mused.

"You gonna keep playing this game with me Boone?" Gibbs asked in annoyance. This got his attention and the man sat straight up to turn towards him.

"I've never considered any of this a game Jethro. You know that." He insisted.

"Whatever, I'm changing the rules." Gibbs told him sternly.

"How so?" he asked curiously.

"I've seen your world. Now you're going to spend what's left of your miserable life in mine." Gibbs growled out and swiftly made his exit. As he walked out Kyle Boone let a triumphant smile stretch across his face.

 **Claire's POV:**

We got the call from Gibbs about Kyle Boone's arrival and Tony immediately went into commando mode. We were in charge of prepping everyone so the four of us went down to the evidence garage to talk to the new agents who were going to be handling Boone. And by 'we' I mean Tony, as he wanted to act like a drill sergeant. Paula and McGee stood to my right, now dressed in NCIS orange jumpsuits since their own clothes were filthy with soot. We all watched as Tony made the newbies line up and stand at attention as he began to pace in front of them, giving their pep talk for the day.

"Ok now listen up my little probationary field agents. You are about to witness the transfer of a maximum security prisoner to our humble facility. While he's here he's our sole responsibility." Tony rattled on. As he passed one of the men yawned heavily, which was unfortunate. _Here we go._

"Oh I'm sorry am I boring you?" Tony turned on the man.

"Oh my god does he ever stop?" Paula whined from beside us.

"I'm just glad it's not me." McGee answered. I saw Gibbs walk out of the elevator and make his way behind us.

"It's 10 o'clock, it doesn't make any sense bringing Boone here now." Cassidy continued, critiquing every little thing Gibbs does like usual. Gibbs came to a silent stop behind the two of them and I quickly took a step over, not wanting to be caught up in it. But again McGee remained oblivious.

"Gibbs is trying to get him into a new surroundings, trying to throw him off balance." he explained to her.

"Did that work so well ten years ago?" Paula countered dryly. My eyes widened in alarm as I glanced back at Gibbs.

"What's different now?" she continued.

"I am Cassidy." Gibbs told her, finally speaking up. She whipped around in slight alarm. By this time Tony had finally finished drilling the newbies.

"Stand tall! Places Probies!" he commanded and pushed the automatic door button to open the garage for the vehicles to enter. All the agents quickly ran into place to surround the van. We all stood in anticipation as the prison van backed up into the garage. Two guards hopped out of the back, dragging Boone along with them. The man smiled over at Gibbs.

"I knew I could count on you Jethro." He complimented, the smile never leaving his face as his eyes roamed over the facility. Two of the NCIS agents grabbed him and immediately led him to the elevator.

"It's good to be home again." he mused, not bothered a bit by the amount of glares he received. It was very unnerving.

"Yup, good to be home." He concluded as the doors closed on him.


	34. Chapter 34

**[** Mind Games 2] 

....

 **Tony's POV:**

The next morning Claire, Paula and I were standing in the bullpen watching Boone who was staring at a far wall in interrogation, away from the camera. Just….standing there…..staring…..all night…..

"The guys been imitating a statue all night. According to the watch he hasn't moved a muscle." I told the two of them. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Claire shuddered.

"Uh, he's creepy." she confessed.

"When is Gibbs going to start his interrogation?" Paula asked, looking over at me.

"When he's ready." I easily answered. _That's how Gibbs works. He doesn't have a normal timetable._

"Well then he better hurry it up, there's less than 48 hours until he's scheduled to be executed." She pointed out. Claire and I just turned to look at her and I scoffed in amusement. _Like that was ever going to happen, I don't have a death wish._

"I've got a better idea Paula; why don't you tell him." I countered knowingly. Paula giggled.

"Cause I'm not stupid." She told me, still giggling. I held back a comment and decided to take another route.

"No, of _ALL_ the things you are, stupid definitely isn't one of them." I agreed with a bite in my tone. Claire shot me a wary glance before walking out of the room. I was thinking about going after her but with Paula there I had bigger things to deal with at the time. And I was too bitter at the moment. I walked past Paula to sit at my desk in an effort to ignore her. _Knowing how things were working between us just left an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. On top of Claire still holding a grudge and over something I did…I was just on edge about everything right now._ Paula froze for a moment, absorbing the implications as she glanced between where she left and me.

"Thank you…..ok what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, turning to look at me.

"Nothing, by the way how's Robert?" I casually asked, reaching for a file on my desk.

"Why….are you jealous?" she asked me impishly. I laughed it off. _What? Me jealous, I've never heard of anything so dumb. Anthony DiNozzo does not get jealous._

"Of a lawyer give me a break." I dismissed, smiling down at my file. I honestly don't even know what is in this thing…just used it as a physical distraction.

"He's very rich." She taunted with a grin.

"Money isn't everything." I countered. _Rich is no big deal, doesn't bother me._

"He has season tickets to the Red Skins….private skybox." She tried again, tilting her head to look at me. _That's not a big deal….I mean any obnoxiously rich person would have seats as good as those. I don't even like the Red Skins….._

"I'm happy for him." I plastered on a large smile. _She's not going to win this. I am going to keep my cool._

"And I almost forgot….he drives a Ferrari." She added with a sigh, leaning her hands on my desk. _No…freaking….way…_ My eyes widened and I looked up at her slowly. She nodded in confirmation.

"Red." She answered my unspoken question.

"Like magnum." I whispered thoughtfully. _That just hurts_. I glanced up at her again and beamed impishly when I caught sight of something.

"Well, that's nice." I told her.

"Isn't it?" she teased back.

"You know what's even nicer?..." I glanced down at the open part of her shirt that was bearing all for me to see.

"…my current view. Oh, Victoria Secret…Agent Cassidy." I scolded lowly, looking up at her with a sultry smirk.

"Well you enjoy it as long as you can agent DiNozzo, cause that's as close as you're going to get." She told me with a grin. My smile and mood immediately dropped as I spotted a figure appear behind her.

"Agent Cassidy….check Boone's security detail." Gibbs told her. Paula whipped around like a child being caught red handed. Which she kinda was. She nodded silently and rushed off towards the elevator.

"I'll go help her with that." I told him, wanting to get out of here.

"Wait." He warned. We both stood there silently as I watched the doors close behind her. The second she was gone I felt the sharp pain on the back of my head that accompanies a Gibb's slap.

"What was that for?" I asked him.

"Letting her get to you." He answered knowingly.

"Boss I was not letting her get…." Gibbs nodded and gave me a look. _Ok so I was letting her get to me, no big deal right?_

"I won't let it happen again." I apologized. Gibbs seemed pleased with this and held up a giant Caf-pow. I didn't really go for these but ok…..

"Thanks?" I commented as I took it from him.

"It's for Abby. Go find out how many victims she ID from Boone's scrapbook." He instructed with that steely gaze. I nodded and dashed off to her lab, Caf-pow in hand.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in Abby's lab, her and McGee were still running the facial recognitions on the victims from the book. Claire was down with them, sitting at a seat off to the side as she ran off to avoid the inevitable flirting from Paula and Tony upstairs.

"Now, there were 27 women in the scrapbook McGee. And as far as I can tell they were in the order that they were killed." She explained, while walking around her workspace.

"Now, Boone has admitted to killing 22. Which matches with the photos in the files the FBI sent over." She continued. McGee muttered in agreement, not really listening to her.

"Which would make you think that we'd be left with 5 Jane Doe's. But you'd be wrong, because I know who the first victim is." Abby told him proudly as she looked at him from between the monitors. She frowned when she realized McGee was staring at something else on the monitor and not even looking at her. She tilted her head in annoyance.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying." She realized. Again, McGee didn't answer. She looked over at Claire in exasperation.

"Men just don't get it." Abby huffed in annoyance.

"Oh don't I know it." Claire chuckled in agreement. Abby looked at her thoughtfully.

"He still doesn't know?" she scoffed in amazement. Claire shook her head with a glare.

"And right now he's flirting with it upstairs, despite his obvious hard feelings towards her. I can't remember the last time he was so blinded by a woman." She added with a scoff.

"Ok so next I see him I have to be mad right?" she asked. Claire smiled over at her.

"Abby you don't have to. This is my problem and I know you very much enjoy Tony's company." She assured but Abby protested.

"No, no I get to help our ignorant little Tony see the error of his ways." Abby insisted, making Claire smile over at her friend. Claire knew that she wouldn't hold out long, but it's the thought that counts. Abby was too nice to stay mad at a friend for too long. The two looked back at McGee who had missed the entire conversation. This gave Claire an idea.

"Want to have a little fun?" she asked Abby with a devilish smirk. Abby's lips quirked into a curious grin.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked. Claire held up a finger and walked over to stand next to McGee.

"Abby's pregnant McGee." She told him seriously. McGee didn't stir.

"Twins." Abby chimed in.

"Haven't told the father yet." Claire continued, talking to the oblivious man. However, what the two of them didn't notice was that Tony had made his appearance and was listening to them with wide and confused eyes.

"It's Gibbs." Abby lied to McGee. Tony's eyes bulged and he silently gagged. Claire stared at Abby in amusement.

"I know it's wrong but something about his silver hair gets me all tingly inside." Abby rambled, staring at McGee the whole time.

"Excuse me for a second I think I'm going to vomit." Tony told the two of them, looking like he might just do that. The two girls whipped around in surprise.

"We were joking Tony." Claire told him as he approached.

"Well, except for the part about Gibb's hair. That is really hot." Abby told them, receiving her Caf-pow from Tony. Claire grimaced while Tony rubbed his temples with a heavy sigh.

"Well I think I will take that as my cue to leave." Claire announced, not wanting to be around him right now.

"Oh you don't have to; you can stay with us." Tony hurriedly insisted. Claire stared at him blankly before sharing a glance with Abby.

"No, I think I'll leave." She countered. Tony pouted in confusion before turning back to Abby.

"What was that about?" he asked her. Abby tilted her head away from him.

"If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you." She scolded. Tony groaned in annoyance.

"Oh come on, not you too. Just tell me!" he pleaded. Abby shook her head defiantly.

"You already know, but you just don't pay attention Tony! Just like McGee here….he's ignoring me." She pointed to the still spaced out man at the computer.

"Easily fixable." Tony countered and reached over to smack McGee on the back of the head. McGee flinched and turned on them with a glare.

"What, what'd I do?" he asked them in confusion.

"Stop ignoring Abby, she's sensitive." Tony scolded him. Abby flailed her hands up in annoyance. How could he pick that up so easily yet be completely blind to the fact that, that was what Claire was all upset about?!

"I'm sorry I was just concentrating. I think I know how we can find Boone's victims without Gibbs having to talk to him." McGee explained. He turned back to his work to show them.

"There are distinctive geographical and made-made features in these pictures. There's a stream…what may be a bridge…up here it appears to be a power line." He pointed out the images in the background.

"Or some dirt on the picture." Tony countered smartly. Abby shot him an amused smile.

"I can make a land plot by computing the distances between these points…" he began but Tony cut him off as he was getting bored.

"Ok streams and power lines…it would take years searching just one county McGee, never mind a state." He countered pointedly.

"Yea for us but not for a computer." Tim corrected. Abby gasped with a smile.

"Satellite imagery." She realized.

"Exactly." McGee smiled.

"Why didn't I think of that." Abby muttered. The two of them continued to discuss the schematics of how they would be able to do all of this. Meanwhile Tony opened and closed his mouth to input his opinion but was drowned out by their chatter. Seeing that they weren't paying attention to him he walked around to stand behind them.

"Ok, ok enough with the geek speak." Tony pleaded, closing his eye in exasperation.

"Gibbs wants to know how many victims we've ID." He explained to them. Abby nodded and trotted off towards the big screen.

"All except for the last four in the scrapbook. We're running them against missing person's reports prior to Gibbs putting Boone behind bars but no matches yet." She explained. Tony and McGee came to stand next to her as she flipped through photos on the screen.

"The one that stands out the most, is the first victim. She disappeared in 1974." Abby told them. Tony frowned.

"Are you sure about that Abs? Boone was just a kid back then." He commented in confusion. Abby shot him a knowing look.

"I know. And it turns out, his mother did not abandon him. She was his first kill." Abby gestured back to the screen where Tony and McGee finally read the name of the first victim. Shirley Boone.

 **Claire's POV:**

Once I was had left the lab I went straight to my desk to get some busywork done. However that didn't last long. Soon after I had arrived Paula received a phone call, during which she sent me a troubled glance. As it turns out Boone's lawyer had showed up and was all upset that his client had been moved. We recruited Tony to stall the man while Paula and I dealt with Gibbs reluctantly. I suggested waiting until later, but Paula wanted to alert him now and Tony of course agreed with her. Being outnumbered I reluctantly walked into the observation room to intercom Gibbs who was in the middle of interrogation Boone. He was so going to kill me. I took a breath before pressing the intercom button.

"Um Gibbs a word please." I spoke into the mic calmly. Boone shot Gibbs a demented smirk. That man gave me the creeps like no other.

"Sounds like you replaced your dead female. Any chance I can meet this one?" he asked Gibb's deviously. My eyes widened in slight alarm but I was thankful that Gibbs didn't dignify him with an answer as he walked out of the room. I nodded to Paula and we made our way out to meet him in the hallway. Once outside he glanced over towards us with a deadly glare.

"What?" he spat, looking at Paula. He knew that I was smart enough not to interrupt him on her my own free will.

"Boone's attorney is here. The DA's afraid that if we deny him access to his client he'll find a sympathetic judge and have cause to have the execution delayed." Paula quickly explained with a whisper as Tony led the man around the corner towards us.

"I need a privileged conversation with my client Agent Gibbs. That means I need the observation room cleared and all microphones turned off." The short man listed off, staring directly at Gibbs challengingly. He had a lot of nerve to come in demanding stuff like that. Tony and I fidgeted from beside our boss, curious to see what Gibbs was going to do. This whole situation was very touchy and we had already been surprised by his actions a couple of times.

"Is that all counselor?" Gibbs asked dryly.

"For now agent." The man retorted coolly. Gibbs glanced over at us.

"Tony." He gestured and Gibbs walked into the observation room to take care of things. Thinking he was cleared, the lawyer took steps toward the interrogation room but Tony held his hand up to stop him.

"Yea, wait a second." He instructed before turning towards the two agents guarding the room.

"Search him first." Tony gestured to the man.

"Thoroughly." He added, holding up rubber gloves. The lawyer rolled his eyes in exasperation. Once he had been completely taken care of we let him have a few minutes alone in the room with the psycho. Gibbs had left to head back to the office while Tony and I stayed behind with the guards in the hallway. I could tell that he wanted to say something but was deterred by my lack of eye contact.

Once his time was up the lawyer exited the room around the same time that Gibbs came around the corner. As he passed the small man gave me a weird look, like he knew something I didn't. It made me shift uncomfortably but I didn't think much of it.

"Agent Gibbs." The man stopped Gibbs just before he reached the interrogation door.

"If anything happens to my client while he's here I want you to know that I am going to hold you personally responsible." He sternly told Gibbs, pointing at his chest.

"You have my word; he will be in perfect health for his execution." Gibbs pointedly answered.

"Escort Mr. O'Neil out of my building Special Agent Cassidy." Gibbs instructed to Paula, who had just showed up, while staring down the smaller man.

"You'll be hearing from me." O'Neil warned before allowing Paula to lead him away. Tony watched our boss warily from his position against the wall. Just because he was almost a superhuman didn't mean that we hadn't cared about his wellbeing.

"You going back in there, boss?" he asked with concern. Gibbs sighed.

"Yea, maybe." He answered before his phone rang, causing him to pick it up instead. Tony and I shared a curious glance as we watched Gibb's demeanor drastically change over the course of the conversation. Once the call had ended he immediately turned back to walk down the hall from where he came.

"They think they may have found his dumping ground." Gibbs informed us as he barreled by. After a moment of hesitation Tony and I chased after him.

...

Abby and McGee explained to Gibbs where they thought Boone's probable dumping ground was. Gibbs rushed off to talk to the man himself while he left Tony in charge of finding the area. Tony, Paula, McGee and I drove the van out into the middle of a national forest where the satellite images had matched up. Parking on the dirt path, we walked back to unload equipment from the back. From there we began our trek into the woods, following McGee who had the satellite GPS of the coordinates.

"The site where the photos were taken is 265 feet on a track of 310 degrees." he told us, turning to follow the specific route.

"It's through here." He pointed out the opening in the thicket nearby. We all stood there for a moment hesitantly.

"Ok, you remember what I told you about the poison ivy right?" I heard Tony whisper to McGee, who nodded as he remembered what happened the last time.

"Don't tell Cassidy." Tony added, a bit louder than intended. I let out a brief snort of laughter while Paula looked at us.

"What?" she asked incredulously. Tony cleared his throat and avoided eye contact.

"Nothing….follow me." He quickly instructed and began his descent through the thicket. We all waited a moment as he pushed through the bushes before letting out a string of whines and grunts as he obviously took a tumble.

"Tony?" I called out in concern.

"I'm ok! I'm ok." He quickly assured. This was our cue to follow.

"It's steep, watch yourselves." He warned as we continued down the embankment on the other side of the bushes. The four of us slowly made our way down the slope until we reached a small clearing at the bottom. I cold chill went up my spine just thinking about what had probably happened here.

"Well if this is the place I can see why Boone picked it. Off the beaten path, no hard surfaces for sound to reflect off of. Those girls could scream their heads off and no one would ever hear it." Tony commented morosely, glancing around as he analyzed the terrain. He nodded again to himself in confirmation.

"Yea, this is the perfect spot." He repeated with a whisper. The four of us spread out, looking for some indication that Boone used this spot. As I walked around my mind kept flashing to the pictures I had seen. I could practically see them tied up around the various trees that were in front of me. I shook my head to get rid of the images and focused back on my job. Out of the corner of my eye I could see McGee spot something and immediately drop his gear and put on gloves before kneeling on the ground next to a bush. Reaching down he pulled away some leaves to reveal a human skull almost fully intact.

"Guys we're in the right place." He called out to us. Tony, Paula, and I walked dove to peer down at the find. Tony pulled out his cell and frowned.

"No reception. Spread out and tape it off, we'll hike back and call Gibbs." He instructed.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The team went to work, numbering and marking different pieces of evidence that they were finding all around the clearing.

"Very good McGee. I'm proud of you." Tony told him as he taped off a tree. McGee perked his head up in confusion as he waited.

"…and?..." he asked looking over at Tony expectantly. Tony gave him a confused look.

"And what?" he asked. McGee tilted his head in thought.

"Well usually you add some sort of insult at the end." he answered matter of factly. Tony scoffed.

"No I don't." he argued before pausing.

"Well….ok maybe sometimes. But the point is…..we're a team and…" he started but immediately stopped when he heard Claire shouting for him in alarm. His senses went into overdrive. Tony froze up and pulled out his gun before running off in her direction, nearly knocking Paula over as she turned to face him. Tony kept up his pace as he jogged around to where she had wandered off to, his eyes darting around on high alert.

"Are you alright?" he asked in concern as he approached her. She nodded.

"I was just a little startled." She told him, glancing off into the distance before her.

"By what?" he asked, glancing around frantically for any threat as he moved closer to her side.

"Her." she pointed out softly. Tony tore his eyes away from Claire and spotted the corpse of a girl in front of them…..posed exactly how Boone would have done. McGee, who had split off to cover the other side with Paula, quickly holstered his gun and walked over to the body. Paula followed, while glancing around warily.

"She couldn't have been dead more than a few days." McGee told them with a frown. Claire nudged the man beside her.

"Tony, you're not going to believe it." She told him, gesturing to the body's back, her stance rigid.

"Boone's mark." Tony muttered in disbelief as he spotted the heart carved into her bare back.

"I can't get any reception out here." Claire muttered as she tried getting a signal on her phone to call Gibbs. Tony had gone back for the camera and was photographing the body, but he got distracted and subtly turned the focus onto her. No harm in sneaking in some pics right? The case wasn't the most prevalent thing on his mind at the moment. He was confused about how he reacted naturally to Claire's distress when she called for him. It was instinctive to drop everything and everyone to chase after her and protect her. But he was still hung up on Paula…..right?

"That's not surprising. I bet 'nowhere' isn't part of our coverage plan." Tony quipped, standing up to get another angle on the body. He shot her a cheesy smile in hope that she would lighten up. To his delight she reluctantly smiled back at him, the familiar sparkle coming back into her eye. McGee was kneeling next to the body, peering at her with intense focus.

"I'll just head back to the truck and try to get a call through." Claire told them, putting her phone up for the time being.

"Ok, tell Gibbs we're going to need everything and everyone on this one." Tony added. She nodded in understanding before jogging off to make her way back to the top of the ravine.

"Be careful!" he told her as an afterthought. Tony smiled when he heard her scoff at him jokingly.

"I'll be back in 20 minutes." She assured just before she disappeared around the corner. Tony continued photographing while McGee stared. Something was wrong here, he just couldn't figure out what.

 **Claire's POV:**

"Gibbs we found Boone's dumping ground." I called as I made it to the top of the hill. I had finally gotten some service so I thought I should take advantage of it while I could.

"Good work, tell Tony he needs to call…."

"We also found a fresh one." I quickly imputed before he could tell me anything else. I felt like he needed to know the whole thing before diving into what came next. The silence on the other end of the line worried me but I continued on before I hit a bad service spot again.

"Female, dead less than a week. She has Boone's mark on her back. I think we're definitely dealing with a copycat killer." I added trekking over to the van. The stupid tall grass was getting in my way and making it hard to walk. Suddenly all I could hear was static on the other line.

"Gibbs?" I asked, shouting a bit.

"Gibbs can you hear me?" I called again over the static.

"Yea, I heard ya. Have the area sealed off, I'm on my way." he informed and hung up the phone. I pocketed my cell and continued on my way to the van to grab some more supplies. I still had a few minutes until my 20-minute mark so I had time. As I walked across the barren field I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. Glancing around as a precaution I didn't see or hear anything odd. I guess this case was just making me jumpy.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Meanwhile McGee was staring intently at the woman's face, when suddenly his features fell in realization.

"Tony, somethings not right." He called over, a bit of fear in his voice.

"Well nothing has been since Boone showed up at NCIS." Tony muttered in disinterest.

"No, no I know this girl." McGee told him urgently. Tony looked up at him with furrowed brows.

"Know her, how?" he asked.

"You know her too; she was the last entry in Boone's scrapbook. One of the Jane Does." McGee told him, shooting him a serious look.

"He's been on death row for 10 years McGee. She's been here less than a week. It's not possible." Paula argued. Tony shrugged his feeling of dread but made his way over to see for himself. As he crouched down next to Tim, his face dropped as he realized that McGee was right. The two shared a frantic glace.

"It can't be." Tony muttered. Glancing over at where Claire disappeared to, he had a bad feeling. But she still had a few minutes before her time was up, no reason to worry.

 **Claire's POV:**

I eventually made my way back to the van, planning to grab and go with the supplies. As I walked around the side, there was a rustling from the bushes. My heart leaped into my throat as I instantly whipped out my gun and pointed it towards the noise but saw nothing. Loosening my shoulders I dropped my gun…just before I felt a searing pain in the back of my head…..darkness took over my senses.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

A few minutes later, Claire's time was up so Tony, Paula, and McGee walked up to the van. Tony kept his calm façade but inside his heart was beating erratically as he couldn't help but think about the possibilities of why she was gone so long.

"Claire!" he called, looking around for the missing woman. As they cleared the woods Tony looked around more intently as he saw nothing but the van.

"Claire!" he shouted again, with no answer.

"Great she's lost." Paula complained, but McGee froze as he saw something on the windshield.

"She's not lost." He told them breathlessly and pulled out his gun, walking around in a slight panic. Tony followed his actions, picking up on McGee sudden change of mood.

"What's going on?" he questioned warily. McGee sighed and reluctantly handed it over to Tony.

"She's been kidnapped." McGee told him softly. Tony stared down at the polaroid picture of an unconscious Claire tied and gaged in the back of an unknown trunk. His heart plummeted and he could feel the blood drain from his face. This couldn't be happening….this had to be a nightmare….this couldn't be happening.

 **Tony's POV:**

Back at the office, the kidnapping picture was put up on the big screen. But all I could do was stare down at my desk, lost in morbid thoughts of what could be happening to her. _I was so stupid, I should have never let her out of my sight._

"McGee where is that list of every phone call and visitor Boone's had since being in prison?" Gibbs asked him urgently, staring at the picture on the screen. Ever since we told him about what happened, he had been running around the office in a livid mood.

"Working on it boss." McGee answered quickly.

"Tony." Gibbs called but I didn't respond. It was like garbled noise in the back of my head. With her gone I couldn't think straight. This was all my fault and she could end up like all those other victims. Claire didn't deserve that. If that happened I don't know how I could keep going. My heart felt like it was made of stone and I wanted nothing but to rip it out of my chest. Anything was better than this type of emotional agony. I ran a hand roughly through my hair as I held back the tears that wanted to break through.

"Tony!" Gibbs called again, causing me to leap out of my chair to attention. I still had a job to do, Claire needed me to do my job instead of mope right now.

"The backup team is in place?" he asked as he sat at his desk.

"Yea" I whispered before stopping at in front of Gibbs. I got quiet and furrowed my brows in thought.

"I never should have let her go out alone boss." I muttered brokenly, reeling from the fact that I could have prevented this. _If I hadn't been ignoring her…..ignoring her?...Oh my god, that's what she had been going on about for the past couple days. I left her for Paula and I hurt her. If….no, when we got her back I have to apologize._

"You didn't know." Gibbs assured me, his eyes relaying that he understood my pain. Abby walked up to us, picture in hand.

"The polaroid of Claire is clean. No prints, no DNA." She told Gibbs softly, her face riddled with worry.

"I'm sorry Gibbs, I screwed this whole thing up." She apologized, bringing everyone's surprised gaze to her.

"You screwed it up?" Gibbs asked her incredulously. Abby never screws up.

"I should have known there was more than one killer. And I only ran the Jane Does up until the time Boone was captured. The last four have gone missing in the last three years." She explained.

"Concentrate on Boone's contacts over the last three years." Gibbs instructed McGee, who nodded earnestly. Abby swallowed and stared up at the picture.

"We can't lose another agent…..I can't take this." She pleaded. I couldn't blame her as we all were thinking the same thing. McGee rushed out of his chair, handing Gibbs the list of names.

"Ok, our best bet is a man named John Fredrick Bates. In the past 3 years he's logged 229 phone calls, and visited 96 times." McGee listed off.

"He's not just writing Boone's biography." Gibbs explained.

"He's living it." I muttered with wide eyes. McGee nodded.

"He's off to a good start. Dishonorable discharge in '91. Arrested for domestic disturbance in 2000 for beating his girlfriend."

"Find him." Gibbs all but shouted at McGee.

"Home address and cellphone." He answered, handing Gibbs a slip of paper instantly. If there ever was I time I wanted to kiss McGee it was now.

"Hey, check out if his cell has a GPS locator because….." I suggested but McGee was ahead of me.

"It does, it can be remotely activated by the company if its reported stolen." McGee informed.

"Good job McGee." Gibbs and I praised at the same time.

"Let's roll." Gibbs instructed as he began grabbing his gear. I started after him but Gibbs turned, stopping me in my tracks.

"I am going and there's no way in hell that I'm staying behind and just waiting for some phone call." I told him lowly, glaring at him to let him know that I wasn't kidding. Gibbs nodded thoughtfully at me and gestured for me to follow. I prayed to anyone that was listening for Claire to be alive when we got there. It was just a matter of time, and I wasn't sure we had enough.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

I was brought out of my darkness by rocking. My arms were sore from being behind me, which was odd. Blinking heavily, I tried to gather my bearings. To my surprise I was in the trunk of a car. Fidgeting in my position I realized that my arms were tied behind me and I had some tape on my mouth. From the movement I would guess that we were on some backroad. Before I could think of anything else, my head started throbbing and begging me to fall back into unconsciousness. Unwillingly I could feel myself slipping back into the darkness.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Gibbs swerved in and out of traffic as he chased down the path that McGee was directing. Gibbs had his cell to his ear while Tony rode shotgun, his jaw tensed.

"Ok bringing up his location." McGee muttered into the speakerphone back in Abby's lab.

"He's headed out of DC on the 190 west." Abby told them as the tracker appeared on her screen. Gibbs sped up even more.

"He's getting off the 190 at Oakley." McGee told him.

"If you get off at McCarth you might get there before him." he suggested. Gibbs immediately turned off the designated back road.

"How far ahead is he?" Gibbs asked, as they bumped along the dirt path.

"Less than a mile." McGee answered. Gibbs drifted around a turn as he pushed the car even faster. They came to a field and spotted a red car driving parallel to them.

"It's gotta be him." Tony pointed out, his eyes intense. Seeing this, Gibbs gunned the vehicle and cut the man off at the crossroads. The two agents immediately leaped out of the car with their guns drawn.

"Keep your hands on the wheel. Keep them up!" Tony shouted while Gibbs walked around to the driver's side.

"Ok, what the hell is going on here?" Briggs asked, not really bothered by the men pointing guns at him. Gibbs roughly yanked him out of the car and up against the door.

"Where is she Briggs?" Tony growled at the man, his emotions barely in check.

"Ok, ok I have every right to be here." Briggs told them. Gibbs grabbed his keys and made his way to the trunk.

"I heard from a guard that you found the bodies. I want to see them." He asked.

"Shut up." Gibbs growled at him as he opened the trunk.

 **Claire's POV:**

The trunk of the car opened up, letting in a large amount of sunlight. I closed my eyes as it hurt my head while someone reached in to rip off the duct tape from my mouth. I let out an involuntary yelp from the sting of it. I was still disoriented from the hit to my head and blinked up at… O'Neil, the lawyer, who was peering down at me with a smug grin. The lawyer?

"Hello." He greeted, laughing at my confused expression. He tilted his head in amusement before roughly pulling me out of the car and dropping me onto my back awkwardly. I let out a shout as I landed harshly on my shoulder, a sharp pain shooting up and down my arm. He then grabbed my legs and dragged me to the center of the barn where he was parked. I grunted as I tried to fight him the whole way, but I still haven't regained full function of my body. I yelped again as I was dropped roughly when he stopped. Lying on my back on top of my hand that were still tied, I desperately tried to fight back the haze that was in my head. By now I know the team will be after me. If I wanted to get out of this alive, I had to stall.

"What did you do to me?" I asked groggily, shifting uncomfortably on my back to look up at him. This guy was Boone's copycat so there was no way in hell that I was going to let him out of my sight for a second.

"I hit you on the head with a shovel my dear." He cooed while bending down to stroke my neck. An unpleasant shudder wracked through my body and I held in a whimper as I tried to shy away from him.

"Did you kill that woman we found." I asked, glancing away from him in an attempt to compose myself. _Come on Claire, now is not the time to panic._

"I did." He whispered before standing up abruptly. I let out the breath I was holding.

"How many more are there O'Neil?" I continued, watching as he walked over to grab the polaroid camera. Well that would explain how he got the scrapbook to look the same.

"Let's see there's…" he trailed off as he started counting them on his fingers silently.

"Well you will make 5." He informed, taking a picture of my disoriented state. I glared up at him. _Like hell I will be. If I'm going down, he's going down with me._ I watched him carefully as he prowled around me with a sadistic grin.

"How did Boone turn his lawyer into his replacement?" I questioned, eyeing the dangling chain that he was now holding on to.

"Do you really think that I'm Boone's lawyer by coincidence? Come on!" he scolded, still pacing around her while I fidgeted with my constraints. I wasn't going to get out of these ropes any time soon so I guess I will have to improvise.

"I sought Boone out." he explained, taking another picture. I blinked away the flash from my eyes. He's really starting to piss me off with that thing.

"Why?" I continued, grimacing when I rolled on my shoulder wrong.

"So I can learn from him. Learn from the best." He elaborated, kneeling next to my head. I maneuvered myself so that I was halfway sitting up and away from him.

"And you, you're my graduation present." He muttered before standing up. With a huff he reeled his foot back and sent it barreling into my side. I grunted in pain as I was rolled across the floor a few times. I lied there a moment, trying to catch my breath back. O'Neil reached down and used a knife to rip open the front of my shirt in one sweep. I sucked in my stomach when he did to avoid getting sliced in half. I glared up at him, holding in my whimpers. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing me vulnerable.

"You know you can scream if you want to, its allowed." He encouraged sarcastically and took another picture. He tilted his head in amusement and poked my side, causing me to instinctively jerk away. O'Neil sighed and set down the camera and small knife on a nearby table. I eyed his movement warily, trying to deduce his next move.

"Kyle says he wants Gibbs to remember him for a long, long time." He rattled off to me as he picked up knifes and inspected them to decide which to use. I shifted again on my tied wrists to get a better view. _Come on Tony, where are you?..._

"So you and me, we're going to take this nice and slow." He drawled out, showing off the weapon he chose. In a flash he bent down to swipe at my chest but I swiftly rolled out of the way. While it missed my chest he did manage to nick my shoulder. I gasped when I felt the sharp sting in my flesh. With a laugh he took another picture. _This is enough_. Setting my jaw, I turned to glare at him and shakily scrambled up to my feet to face him. I wasn't going to just take this lying down. He chuckled in anticipation.

"Oh, a fighter huh?" he asked as we circled each other challengingly.

"I haven't had one of those before." He mused. I flexed my wrists nervously, but I wasn't about to let it slip onto my face.

"You try that thing again with the knife and I swear…" I growled but was cut off when he lunged for me again.

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In interrogation Gibbs slammed down the scrapbook in front of Boone.

"You wanted to see your scrapbook. Where is my agent?" Gibbs sneered, leaning on the table to look at him. Boone simply glanced up at him. With an eye roll Gibbs reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. Tony watched from the observation room with a nervous expression, his fingers pawing at his lower lip, while Gibbs teasingly held the book over the flame.

"Stop….stop….stop." Boone muttered frantically as he watched.

"Look you don't know what you're…you don't know what you're doing." he told Gibbs pleadingly, eyes glued on the book. Gibbs ignored him and dramatically banged on the lighter to get it to light better.

"Jethro, don't. I don't know where she is. How can I?'" Boone tried again. This time the lighter came on and Gibbs grabbed the book that Boone had latched on to, begging him to let him see it one last time. Boone ducked his head and began to sob.

"Where. Is. She?" Gibbs asked again, his expression murderous. Boone's sobs turned into laughter as he lifted his head up to stare at the agent in amusement.

"We all know you can't destroy evidence. Pathetic Jethro." He shook his head in disappointment. Gibbs froze and glared down at him.

"You really think I need that to see them? They're all up here, anytime I want." Boone tapped on his temple.

"Your agent is going to suffer, the obscenities unleashed on her and do you know why?" Boone fervently told Gibbs who had taken to pacing around with a glare.

"Because you couldn't stop me." Gibbs reached down and slammed the man against the glass and pulled out a gun to put to Boone's head. The man smiled up at Gibbs and laughed.

"He's cutting her tongue out of her mouth right now. And you know the best part? After I'm gone bodies are just going to continue to pile up." he taunted, ignoring how Gibbs pulled back the hammer on the pistol.

"Shoot me." He dared. Gibbs glared and pulled the trigger. The man flinched but his face morphed into shock as nothing happened. Just the dull click of an empty magazine.

"Shoot me, you're supposed to shoot me you idiot." Boone growled desperately. Gibbs tilted his head dismissively.

"Is that the big plan you spent 10 years working on? To get me to murder you, and ruin my own life?" he asked with the 'are you serious?' look. Seeing Boone's distress he chuckled.

"Wow." He muttered. Boone frantically tried again.

"He's carving your name in her back right now." He called out.

"Games over, back to death row." Gibbs told him nonchalantly and nodded to the guards outside.

"Gibbs? Gibbs!?" Boone called out questioningly as the men walked in and dragged him into the hallway.

"Have you gotten the call yet, because they're not going to kill me know. I'm the only one who can identify the killer." Boone rattled off smugly. Gibbs stared at him blankly.

"Do you think she screamed when he cut out her tongue Jethro?" Boone teased again.

"I don't know. Why don't you ask her yourself?" he suggested. The men turned to see Claire step out of the observation room. She had some cuts on her face, a black eye, her arm in a sling and had one of Tony's old t-shirts on….but she was alive and standing. Boone's expression dropped rapidly.

"I'm afraid your lawyer is going to miss your execution tomorrow" she informed him in mock sympathy, setting a glare onto the psychotic man. Tony walked out and stood behind her protectively.

"He's kinda dead." he added with a sneer.

"Enjoy hell." Gibbs dismissed and the team stood there as they watched a screaming Boone get dragged away. Once he was out of sight Claire let out a relieved sigh and leaned against the wall. Gibbs had taken his leave so it was just Tony there with her.

"You ok?" he asked, a panicked expression across his face as he analyzed her from head to toe. Claire chuckled humorlessly.

"Yea, just peachy. Thanks for letting me borrow your shirt. I promise to get the blood stains out of it later." She told him with a soft smile. They stared at each other for a long moment, her eyes furrowing as she noticed that there was a distant look in his eyes.

"Are you ok?" she asked in turn. Tony's gaze came back to the present and he rolled his eyes at her.

"That is a stupid question. How are you getting home?" he asked, secretly hoping she didn't know yet.

"Abby called my brother, so Devon is waiting outside. I'll be using him a lot seeing as I can't really drive well for a couple weeks." She joked, lifting up her injured arm in the sling. Tony nodded silently.

"Goodnight, Tony." She told him, squeezing his hand comfortingly as she passed.

"Night." He called back, watching her go. Once he was alone in the hall, his mind became flooded with thoughts. Tony slid down the wall as he recalled everything that had happened a few hours previous.

...

 _Gibbs slammed on the breaks as they arrived at the abandoned barn that McGee had tracked the lawyer's phone to. Without waiting for him to park, Tony threw himself out of the car. The sounds of shouts and sharp thumps caused his throat to constrict painfully. Drawing his gun out he darted inside. In front of him Claire's head was thrown violently as O'Neil landed a heavy punch to her eye. She stumbled on her feet before tripping backwards over a stray piece of wood. The world seemed to move in slow motion as the man lifted up the knife, laughing manically. Claire had nowhere else to go. As his arm came down to kill her, a shot rang out and his body fell limply to the side. Claire gasped in shock and whipped her head around towards where the sound came from. Tony stood there, breathing heavily as he stared venomously at the dead lawyer on the ground. She had never seen him so enraged before in her life._

 _"Tony." She whispered out, blood trickling down her face. The sound of her voice, broke him out of his trance and he holstered his gun before sprinting towards her. Gibbs had shown up and was checking that the man was truly dead. Tony slid on his knees next to Claire who sat up and buried her head onto his chest. He didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her tightly, one of his hands pressing her head closer to him. His eyes welled up with tears as he gently laid his head on top of hers, taking comfort in the fact that she was in his arms. She let out a sharp hiss as he squeezed a bit too tightly, causing him to reel back frantically._

 _"Are you ok? What's wrong?!" he hovered trembling hands over top of her, terrified that he had inflicted some more damage to her. She shook her head dismissively._

 _"I just have a bad shoulder. Can you untie me?" she asked him with a tearful laugh. Tony nodded and quickly set to work. Once her hands were free she immediately wrapped her arms around his neck in a relieved hug._

 _"I'm so sorry." He muttered into her hair as they sat there._

 _"You didn't know…" she started but he leaned back to look at her seriously._

 _"No, I mean for everything. I'm sorry I ignored you for Paula and I promise that I won't ever do it again. You're my best friend Claire, I couldn't even begin to fathom what I would do without you." He told her earnestly. Claire's eyes watered in happy emotion and she just leaned forward in a hug once more, unable to form words. As they sat there Tony became lost in thought. The words 'best friend' tasted like acid coming out of his mouth. This was so much more than that. When he thought of her dying it was like a piece of his soul was being crushed. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't function. The strong overflow of powerful emotions had floored him on the way over here. What he thought he felt for Paula didn't come anywhere close to what he felt for the girl in his arms right now. Holding Claire close to his body felt so….right. There was no other way to describe it. Nothing else had ever filled the emptiness in his life other than this raven haired, blue eyed beauty with him right now. She had been with him through everything and he hadn't given it much thought until now. When he was faced with the possibility of losing her permanently, it all clicked into place. The fuzzy feelings, the comfort he had in her presence, the second glances her way. He was in love. Tony DiNozzo was in love with this woman and it terrified him._

 _..._

Shaking himself out of his daydream, Tony drew in a deep breath. He had chalked up this realization to adrenaline, but even now when it had worn off…..the warmth in his heart remained. He loved Claire, he always had. Now it was just going to overcomplicate things with them. Then again maybe not. She didn't know, nor did she need to. Kate was right. She had hinted to his feelings long before he even knew himself. Tony ran a hand down his face as he let everything settle in his mind. He would just have to ride this one out and see what happens. Being in love was a first for him and he wasn't ready to just dive in. Besides, Claire didn't need this burden on her shoulders. For now it was best to just keep it to himself. Claire saw him as a best friend, but who knows?...Everyone needs something to hope for.


	35. Chapter 35

[Silver War: 1]

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The elevator opened to reveal Tony DiNozzo causally trimming his newly grown scruff beard with an electric razor. He frowned and felt his neck as he realized it wasn't doing anything. Trudging towards his desk he rolled his eyes and took of the plastic cap that was covering the blades, preventing it from doing its job. Clearly it was too early to function.

"I hate Mondays." He muttered pitifully to himself and flung his bag onto the floor behind his desk. As he walked around, he jerked off his raggedy jacket to reveal a white wife beater underneath.

"I hate frickin….Fat Al's all you can eat burrito shack." He continued muttering as he put away his gun and walked over to open his center drawer in the filing cabinet. Tony perched on the edge of his desk before the drawer.

"More like Fat Al's bacteria shack." He whined while pouring water into the coffee cup that was stored in the drawer. He let out a belch and sighed in disgust. Picking up the toothbrush that was in the drawer, along with a spare shirt, he swirled it around in the water.

"I shouldn't have come into work today…" he grumbled and shook his head tiredly, before brushing his teeth.

"If Gibbs sees me like this…"

"He'll probably be as horrified as I am Agent DiNozzo." A voice chimed in from behind him. Tony straightened up in alarm and turned to see Ziva David (Da-veed) sitting at Kate's desk with a disgusted look. She smiled impishly as she saw his confused expression and leaned forward in the chair.

"Working undercover as a hobo?" she assumed, glancing over his unusually unkempt form. Tony slowly drew the toothbrush out of his mouth and smacked his lips with a disgruntled look.

"You mind telling me what you're doing here again?" he asked, wondering why she was even in the building. Didn't she leave over a month ago or something?

"Um….waiting." she answered with a sigh, as if it was obvious.

"For what?" he asked.

"To start work." She told him slowly as if talking to a child. Tony turned away from her, blinking owlishly as he became even more confused. Work? What was she talking about?

"Does everyone come in this late?" she asked him, keeping up a light conversation.

"It's 0700!" he explained in exasperation as he turned back to look at her.

"At Mossad we start at 0500." Ziva quipped smugly.

"Ok…" Tony sighed in annoyance as he wasn't getting anywhere with this. He slowly dragged himself upright and walked over towards her.

"Let me rephrase the original question….what the HELL are you doing here Ziva?" he asked dryly. She pursed her lips.

"I see." With a sigh she hopped up to explain.

"Gibbs didn't tell you." She stated. It was now obvious seeing as he was not thrilled with her sudden presence.

"Tell me what?" he asked tiredly.

"Mossad has assigned me to NCIS as a liaison officer. We're going to be working together." She answered easily. Tony just stared down at her like she had grown two heads.

"Does Gibbs know about this?" he asked her warily.

"You think I'd be here if he didn't?" she deadpanned. Tony scoffed in amusement. Oh, how little she knew. However, his smile dropped as Ziva started laughing at him. She quickly put her hand over her mouth as he stared at her.

"You might want to do something about uh…you're hair." she gestured to his intense bed head and Tony swatted her hand away. He gave her an unamused look and stepped away from her back to his desk.

"It's sticking up like a porcu-swine…no no…..like a por…porcue…." Tony shook his head at her as she struggled with the word. At this moment McGee and Claire had walked in with the morning coffees and stared as the woman wildly gestured in an attempt to explain what she was talking about.

"…the little animal with the..." she made a hand gesture to resemble spikes coming out of her head.

"Porcupine." McGee supplied as he stared at her curiously.

"Porcupine! Yes! …thank you special Agent McGee." She smiled and eagerly grabbed for the coffee that was in Claire's closest hand. She stared at her in shock, unsure as to what was going on.

"Sure…" McGee muttered before the two rushed over to talk to Tony. 'What is she doing here?' McGee mouthed to Tony who was putting on his new shirt. Tony scrunched up his face and shook his head, indicating he had no idea. Claire walked over to stand beside him with a dazed expression.

"Why is this woman taking my coffee?..." she asked him, trying to convince herself that this was some odd dream. Tony smirked at her lost expression, reaching to take his own coffee from her other hand. However, Claire snapped out of her stupor and held it away from him. Tony looked at her incredulously.

"Tony, if my coffee is stolen then I need a replacement." She told him in a 'duh' tone. Everyone knew how critical her coffee was in the early mornings.

"Yea, well I have just come from off the street…. literally….and I haven't had anything good in two days so..." he reached for the cup again but Claire backpedaled. With an eye-roll Tony went to snap at her but stopped short when he caught her staring curiously at his open shirt…..more specifically the part of his exposed chest. He could feel heat creeping up his neck at the thought that she could be admiring him. Good thing he was still scraggly or she would have seen it.

"Why are you only half dressed?" she asked, looking up at his face seriously.

"Because I don't have my coffee." He retorted dryly. Claire pursed her lips in thought.

"Well that's too bad…if you want you can have a sip of mine." She offered smugly. Tony put his hands on his hips and stared down at her in amusement.

"Your coffee? A few minutes ago it was mine." He pointed out. Claire nodded.

"Well yes but that's before mine was taken. Now this cup is mine and I am nice enough to let you have a couple sips." She clarified, nodding her head towards the cup in her outstretched hand. Tony thought for a moment before answering. Two could play at this game.

"Ok, fine. Can I have some of your coffee then?" he asked in mock politeness. Claire smiled back at him and handed over the cup. All was going well as he sipped the drink until he decided to step it up. With a sinister stare he stuck out his tongue and licked all around the mouthpiece of the cup. He smiled in victory at seeing her appalled expression. McGee and Ziva, who had been watching the entire thing groaned in disgust. Once he was finished Tony cheekily handed the cup back to her.

"You still want it?" he asked knowingly. Claire grimaced as she stared at the cup.

"Yup." She assured. Tony frowned in surprise. With a triumphant smile Claire popped the lip off of the cup and began drinking it from the clean rim. Tony chuckled approvingly.

"Touché." He nodded at her, and Claire bowed lightly in thanks.

"Anyone have a key for this?" Ziva suddenly piped, gesturing to the desk she was at. As the moment was broken and the three agents turned to stare at her their eyes widened in alarm.

"That's Kate's desk." McGee told her sternly.

"Ok…. But if I'm going to be a part of your team I'm going to …."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…." Claire quickly cut her off.

"You're…. part of our team?" she asked incredulously. Ziva stared up at them with wide eyes, not understanding how they didn't know about her.

"Yes." She answered. McGee's jaw dropped slightly and he turned back to Tony.

"Gibbs tell you about this?" he asked in surprise.

"Nope." Tony briefly answered as he finally started buttoning up his shirt. Claire turned back to stare at Ziva suspiciously. After everything that happened with Ari, she hadn't trusted the woman and was curious as to why she was suddenly added to Gibb's team. She didn't want another partner. With an eye roll Ziva reached into her bag and pulled out a file.

"Here are my orders, signed by Director Shepherd." She walked around to hand the file to McGee, who had it snatched by Claire, where it was then stolen by Tony who scanned over the papers inside. Claire raised a brow and looked at them over his shoulder.

"Think Gibbs knows?" she asked Tony skeptically.

"I hope so; all my personal stuff is being shipped from Tel Aviv to Washington." Ziva told them with a sure nod.

"I'd hold off on unpacking the waffle iron until you talk to him Ziva." Tony advised her with a knowing smile.

"When does he come in?" she asked.

"Now." Tony supplied and handed her the files with a grin. They all turned to see Gibbs heading their way from the elevator and Ziva rushed over to intercept him.

"Special Agent Gibbs." She greeted, holding her hand out to him. Gibbs gave her a glance over and shook her hand politely.

"Ziva." He greeted.

"What are you doing here?" he asked curiously.

"Looking forward to being a member of your team." She answered, holding her head high. Gibb's eyes widened for a second as he stared at her. She smiled uneasily as he just stared in silence and took a sip of his coffee. Pursing his lips, he glanced up towards MTAC irritably and brushed past her to walk up the stairs. This was obviously news to him and he had a bone to pick with the Director.

"I stand corrected. It appears he didn't know." Ziva admitted to the team sheepishly. She huffed in embarrassment.

"I feel like a donkey's butt." She muttered as she slunk back to sit behind Kate's desk. McGee quirked a brow and looked at the other two questioningly.

"Donkey's butt?" he asked.

"I think she meant horses ass, McGee." Tony explained.

"Yes, that too." Ziva told them with a strained smile. She rolled out the chair and sat there uncomfortably with her hands folded in her lap. This was not how she expected her first introductions as a teammate to go. Her sitting there, presumably unwelcome, only heightened the uncomfortable atmosphere among the four of them.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

As Gibbs was in MTAC talking with the director the rest of us went to our desks to mind our own business. Well, sorta. Who am I not to meddle. I looked over my monitor to spot Ziva, who was sitting silently at Kate's desk with a downtrodden expression. I did feel kinda bad for her. This morning had been one big uncomfortable miscommunication for her.

"You want something to read?" I asked her trying to be polite. It was depressing to just watch her sit there all gloomily. She looked up at me in surprise.

"What do you have?" she asked curiously. I grinned and pointed a finger at her before diving into my desk drawer. Since last time I saw her she continued making me uncomfortable, maybe it was time to return the favor. I whipped out a magazine with a practically naked woman on the front of it, and proudly displayed it to her.

"GSN. It's a men's magazine…..most women find that it objectifies them." I explained, seeing if it would get a rise out of her. Ziva stared at it curiously before reaching into her own bag. She calmly pulled out her exact copy of GSN, except this one was written in Hebrew, and showed it to me. My grin dropped and I flipped the cover around to see if I was hallucinating. _There was no way she had the same copy as I did._

"I read it on the plane. I especially like the article on page 57." She told me, glancing at the cover of her personal copy. My eyes widened with intrigue and quickly began flipping to the page.

"In my experience, it works every time." Claire chimed in from across the room, not even looking away from her computer.

"Since when do you read GSN?!" I asked her incredulously. This is like every guy's dream. Having a woman that is cool with reading men's magazines. Claire looked over at me with a slightly sheepish expression.

"Devon has his own copies and sometimes I get bored." She told me, fighting off a blush at the gob smacked expression I had on my face. I grinned in excitement as I heard her explanation and eagerly looked back to skim through the article. I lifted up the extra flap of the page and my expression became dazed. This is the article they were talking about. My heart could literally burst with happiness. And they both do this?...That's bothersome and yet such a turn on.

"I…I always thought that was urban legend.." I muttered quietly, attempting to keep my emotions in check. Just then a wad of paper flew from the stairwell behind me and knocked me on the back of the head. Knowing exactly who it was, I immediately put the magazine up before Gibbs could make it down here. Seeing, the man approach, Ziva quickly put away her own copy. As Gibbs made his way over to the bullpen, she rose to attention.

"What's the verdict?" she asked warily. Gibbs stood in front of her desk.

"Pack your trash." He told her simply. Ziva's expression fell for a moment before she covered it up with a respectful nod.

"Not a problem." She assured quietly. The three of us watched the interaction quietly, sharing uncomfortable glances. I mean none of us were particularly keen on having her replace Kate, but this whole ordeal was kinda harsh.

"Most of it doesn't arrive until next week." She added, trying to come off nonchalant about the whole thing. Ziva gathered her bag and papers before standing in the center of the room.

"Nice seeing you again Tony, Claire, McGee." She told the us, each of us waved back silently in goodbye. Without another word Ziva made her way over to the elevators.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Once she stepped inside, Ziva faced the back wall as she gathered her emotions. Seconds before the elevator doors closed, Gibbs slipped inside, causing her to flip around.

"I told you to pack your trash Ziva…I don't remember giving you permission to leave yet." Gibbs told her in a low whisper. She whipped her head to look up at him in surprise. Gibbs nodded subtly and reached over to power down the elevator. The two stood there silently for a moment.

"You requested this assignment?" Gibbs asked her curiously.

"I did."

"Why?" he asked her seriously. After the whole Ari incident, the two had formed a strange bond of trust. He had thought that everything was done, but her presence said otherwise. That and the fact that she was put on his team because Dr. Shepherd wanted her to learn from him. Ziva swallowed before answering.

"I had to get away from Mossad for a while." She admitted. Gibbs stared down at her.

"You believe what Ari said about your father?"

"No." she answered too quickly. Gibbs gave her a knowing look and she glanced away from him.

"Yes….maybe..." she sighed.

"Your brother was a Svengali Ziva." Gibbs pointed out to her. Ziva scoffed.

"Like father, like son." She mused with a bite to her tone.

"Does Mossad know you killed Ari?" Gibbs asked.

"No. they believe your report." she shook her head earnestly.

"Only you and I know the truth. For that I thank you." She told him sincerely. Gibbs gazed at her for a moment, accepting that she was telling the truth.

"I trust you, you know that. But when we leave this elevator…."

"You start kicking my butt." Ziva finished knowingly. Gibbs scoffed in mock offence and shook his head.

"I don't kick butt." He muttered in exasperation and reached to turn the power back on. He eased himself back beside her, as the two started their decent back to the office. With a subtle grin Gibbs reached up to smack Ziva on the back of the head. She lurched in slight shock before laughing. Gibbs chuckled beside her. However, the moment the doors opened the two quickly went back to cold frowns and walked out.

"Ms. David will be with us for a while." Gibbs informed his team. They frowned in confusion but said nothing. Ziva walked behind Gibbs to sit back at Kate's desk but he quickly grabbed her backpack and yanked her away.

"That's Kate's desk." he clarified.

"Yours is down at the end." Gibbs told her before walking off. Tony made his way towards the windows and Ziva followed after him as he was the only one she felt comfortable with since they interacted a lot the last time she was in D.C. Claire watched them warily from her spot on the other side of the bullpen. She didn't like the fact that Ziva seemed overly comfortable with Tony.

"He's a tough one to read." Ziva muttered under her breath.

"You'll find most NCIS agents are like that, it's our training." Tony quickly informed her, trying to come off all mysterious. That and he was still a bit wary of how blunt she was around him.

"Is that a fact?" she asked coyly. Tony hummed and nodded.

"We never let other people know what we're thinking." He added smugly. Ziva looked up at him and smirked.

"Right now you're thinking of doing page 57…..but not with me….." She informed him, with an impish grin and glanced over across the bullpen. Tony scoffed uncomfortably but didn't correct her. He didn't like how easily she seemed to decipher his thoughts and motives. Claire had been the only one to do that so easily but with her it was comforting. With Ziva it felt like he was under a microscope and he didn't like it. She smirked at him one last time before turning to walk over to her new desk behind McGee and across from Claire. The two girls eyed each other, subtly sizing the other up. Tony nervously glanced back and saw the looks the two were giving one another. With two very independent and strong women in the office, this whole situation was either going to go very well or very badly. And from the fact that Ziva was the one to basically set up the whole Claire kidnapping, he knew it was going to start off really badly.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

"Uh boss we have a situation at the Smithsonian Museum." McGee informed, walking up to Gibb's desk.

"What?" Gibbs asked him sharply.

"Um…the explanation is kinda complicated but there may have been a murder." McGee told him reluctantly.

"May have been, McGee?" I asked, as Gibbs slowly looked up from his paperwork. That doesn't make any sense.

"Well they have a union soldier who was dug up from a battle field in Manassas…and now they think he may be a marine." McGee explained, reading off the file that he had printed out. I glanced over to see Ziva listening intently from her desk.

"It was the civil war McGee, marines fought on both sides." Gibbs pointed out.

"Right I know…..but this marine had dog tags. They didn't exist back then." Tim countered. I shook my head at him as Gibbs looked up at McGee with a 'really' look.

"I know that you would know that being a marine…." McGee trialed off awkwardly.

"Get to the point McGee." Gibbs ordered.

"Well they think that this marine was killed recently and um…..and buried in a way, they can't quite explain it but…..in a 140 year old cast iron sarcophagus." he rattled off, trying to make sense of the information he was given.

"Dressed as a union soldier?" I asked him in confusion. McGee nodded.

"Basically yea." He answered. Gibbs shook his head in surprise before reaching into his desk drawer. This was going to be a weird case. And Civil War….Tony was going to hate it.

"Gas the truck McGee." He ordered, tossing the keys to the man.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs called.

"Yea boss." Tony quickly made his way over to join the group. I walked over to stand by Gibbs at his desk.

"We got a murder in your expertise." Gibb explained to him. Tony turned to face Ziva.

"This happens a lot me being a senior field agent and all." He smugly told her as he walked over.

"I'm sure." She mused dryly. Tony turned back to send her a stink eye at her sarcasm. I crossed my arms and watched the two warily. She was still too friendly with him for my liking.

"What are we dealing with boss? Multiple homicides?"

"No."

"Gang related?"

"No"

"Defenestration?" Tony asked jokingly as all his other 'areas of expertise' had been quickly shot down. Gibbs stood up and stared at him.

"The Civil War." He explained. Tony's face immediately fell and he swallowed thickly, trying to cover up his mild panic.

"I can hardly wait…..it's my favorite subject." He answered with a wide eyed expression, before turning away to grab his gear. _Poor thing, this was going to haunt him for a while._

"What about me?" Ziva asked, walking up to Gibb's desk.

"You're coming along, strictly as an observer. Hand over your weapons to Agent Conners." Gibbs told her. Ziva huffed and looked away in irritation. Gibbs raised his brows expectantly.

"Is that really necessary?" she asked incredulously when she saw he wasn't joking. Gibbs said nothing and nodded to me before heading down to grab Ducky. The two of us stood there and I held hand out expectantly.

"Right….." she muttered in resignation. She reached behind her and pulled out her handgun, popped out the magazine and handed the pieces to me. I popped the magazine back in and put it into his desk drawer.

"And your backup." I told her.

"What backup?"

"Left leg." I elaborated knowingly. This is why Gibbs had me gather the weapons. He wasn't the only one who was observant. Plus with her following Tony and Gibbs around like a lost puppy all the time, I felt obligated to keep track of any weapons she had. Someone had to watch their back, and I know McGee hadn't honed his skills just yet.

"Oh…that one" she muttered innocently, realizing that I wasn't stupid. With a frown she reached down to unstrap her spare gun that was on her left calf and handed it to me. I put that one away too.

"And the knife concealed at your waist." I told her. Ziva looked at me with a shocked expression, obviously wondering how I knew. With an annoyed huff, she pulled out her hidden blade and handed it to me, handle first. I took it from her, flipped the blade around and immediately handed it back.

"You can keep this. " I told her smugly. She took it and put it back into its sheath.

"I just want you to know, that I know." I told her warningly before heading towards the elevator. Ziva stood there staring at me curiously before following behind me.

...

While Ducky and Gibbs were talking with the anthropologist that had called in, the rest of us were in the back taking pictures. At the moment, I had the camera and Tony was pretending to fight and juke out a large stuffed grizzly bear. I did say we were taking pictures after all. I couldn't help but giggle at his childish antics, McGee smiling beside me.

"Oh Claire take some picture of me posing with the bear." Tony eagerly asked, rushing into the bear's outstretched paws. I smiled in amusement but agreed readily. It was times like these where the Tony could get me to loosen up. Yes, he oftentimes acted like a 5-year-old but it brought joy to my day. Ever since Paula had come and gone, he had been acting kinda weird. Like super attentive to me and my moods. Not saying I didn't mind it, but still it was a bit odd to me. Right now with two of my best friends I was having a blast and nothing could put a damper on my mood right now.

"I don't think this is what Gibbs had in mind when he instructed me to observe." Ziva spoke up from beside us. _I spoke too soon_. Of course, she would find fault with how we do our job.

"Do you have any idea how many people in America get killed by bears every year ZIva?" Tony asked, as he situated himself to look like the bear was chocking him. He had an obnoxiously frightened expression as he posed for me to take a photo. I giggled once again, causing Tony to grin back at me.

"No, but I can't imagine a lot." She answered dryly. Tony raised his eyebrows.

"You'd be surprised." He told her before acting like he was holding the bear's paws apart. I smiled even more as we continued our impromptu photo shoot. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"McGee?" she asked him.

"Uh….I think it's about one." He told her before dismissively while I took another picture of Tony, doing a more supermodel pose with the bear. This guy was a goof and I loved it.

"Isn't there something more constructive you could be doing?" she asked us tiredly.

"Like what?" Tony asked as he adjusted his had to make it look like it was falling off.

"Investigating?" she suggested sarcastically. Just as Tony posed with his head under a paw Gibb's voice called out behind him.

"DiNozzo, Claire and McGee." The three of us instantly scrambled to attention.

"Report." Gibbs asked as he walked up to us.

"Casket was uncovered by a housing project going on at Bull run battle field in Manassas, boss. Got the name and address of the construction company, scheduled an interview and soil test for tomorrow." Tony listed off instantly from his spot in front of the bear.

"The only thing removed from the casket was Warren's cell phone. Damaged and nonoperational." McGee added, holding up the cell in an evidence bag.

"We've also got the prints of the lab workers to run against anything we find in or around the body and tomb. Dr. Burns was wearing surgical gloves when she picked this up." I finished off. Ziva stared at the three of us incredulously.

"Good work." Gibbs nodded in approval.

"Ms. David?" he asked, knowing she had questions.

"I'm wondering why there's a 9mm hole in my hat." She asked, sticking her finger in the hole in the bill of the cap and wiggling it. We all looked away at the mention of our bad target practice we had the other month. We may have decided collectively to give her the crappy, shot up hat. Gibbs stared at her in thought.

"Ventilation." He answered, giving her a look. I smirked.

"Oh." She nodded, playing along.

"I'll escort the casket with Ducky. We'll meet in the squad room." Gibbs told the three of them before heading back.

"Agent Gibbs." Ziva quickly called before he disappeared. He paused to look back at her.

"I would also like to know if I could drive the truck back to base? It might make me feel as if I actually accomplished something today." She explained, with a hopeful look. Gibbs stared at her thoughtfully for a moment.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"Hey not so fast!" Tony scolded from the other side of the car as ZIva sped down the highway at an alarming rate. McGee was seated in the middle seat up front while Claire got stuck in the back but she placed her head in the window behind his head so she could be included in the conversation.

"I always drive fast, it's the best way to avoid possible IED's and ambushes." Ziva explained.

"You're in America now I wouldn't worry about it." Tony told her, grunting a little as she swerved harshly around the cars. The three agents strained as they were jerked to the side. McGee shot her a nervous look as she continued weaving in and out of cars.

"Why was I the one stuck in the back again?" Claire whined as she scrambled to right herself from all the jerking motions.

"Because you two girls can't play nice." Tony told her with a knowing look. The girls frowned at him.

"I'll keep that in mind when this maniac sends me to an early grave back here." Claire told him dryly.

"You will be fine." Ziva dismissed as she jerked the car, making Claire stumble once again.

"How about this? Slow down or I'll puke on you." Tony suggested threateningly as her driving continued to get worse and worse. Maybe sticking Claire in the back wasn't such a good idea.

"Tony why don't you like the American Civil War?" Ziva asked instead. Tony frowned and gazed out the window.

"I don't talk about it." he dismissed.

"It's because of his father." McGee answered for him. Claire smacked the back of his head as Tony turned to glare.

"Was she talking to you?" Claire asked him pointedly. If Tony didn't want to share, then it wasn't his place to talk about it.

"So you don't get along with your father…hmmmm… that explains a lot." Ziva mused with a smirk. Tony leaned forward to shoot her a look.

"My father and I get along fine." he insisted. Ziva titled her head to the side dismissively.

"If you say so, I think it's better to talk about things instead of burying them inside." Ziva told them, as she remained focus on the chaotic driving. Claire raised a brow.

"What about you, your father? Deputy Director David, what's he like?" she asked, knowing it would hit a nerve. Instantly Ziva stepped harder on the accelerator, making the other two grunt in alarm as they were pressed against the seats. Claire however was sent flying backwards, as was Ziva's intention.

"Slow down, we're taking the next left." Tony warned.

"Claire you ok back there?" he asked, trying to spot her through the small window.

"Oh just a slight concussion, but other than that I'm just peachy!" She called back sarcastically from her spot on the floor. Ziva swerved onto the turn and proceeded to speed down the wrong side of the street just as Claire was able to grasp onto the window once more. The cars in front of her began blasting their horns at the oncoming van.

"Ziva Car. CAR!"

"Watch out!"

"CAR!" the three agents beside her began shouting at her in alarm. Ziva swiftly swerved in and out of the oncoming cars, making Tony shout in fear and McGee wince as he pressed back against the seat. Claire gripped onto the window ledges as hard as she could in an attempt to keep herself upright. As Ziva continued driving the wrong direction the agent let out multiple shouts of fear and whimpers as they saw their life flash before their eyes.

"Sorry." She told them with a smirk as she finally got back onto the correct side of the road.

"First time behind a wheel after a 6-month mission in the UK." She explained with a grin. Tony leaned forward and started dry heaving. Claire growled and glared at the person in the driver seat. Something had to be done.

...

"I said I was sorry." Ziva pouted from the back as Tony took the wheel of the van, glaring straight ahead. Claire had taken her new spot beside him, with McGee on the other side. Claire huffed in irritation before leaning across Tony to automatically close up the window behind her, where Ziva's head was.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

After getting a relatively sane person behind the wheel, we finally and safely made it back to NCIS. Ziva and I didn't share any words with one another. You could feel the tension oozing off the two of us. I knew that eventually we would have to get along since it looks like she'll be here for quite a while but it was going to take some work.

"We ran his prints through AFIS, it is confirmed that our union soldier is Staff Sergeant Warren Sorrow. An MSG instructor in Quantico." McGee listed off as the four of us stood in front of the big screen.

"MSG stands for…"

"Marine Security Guard." Ziva quickly finished for Tony. He pursed his lips in irritation. _Well whoopee, you know some terminology of the trade._

"I've been to 2 dozen Embassy's around the world Tony." She told him smugly, explaining that she knew what it was.

"You're not the only one." I pointed out just as smugly. She wasn't anything overly special as she like to have us all think. Tony glanced away with a knowing smile as I took another subtle dig at Ziva.

"Where are we on our Staff Sergeant McGee?" Gibbs asked walking over to our group.

"Um, went UA around a year ago. Currently building a profile on what his life was like around the time of his disappearance." McGee explained.

"Well not anymore, I want you with Abby." Gibbs ordered him as he took the folder from McGee.

"Find out what was on his cell we found in the casket." He instructed, leaving McGee to head in that direction. Gibbs turned to hand the folder to Tony.

"Tony, you and Claire on the paper trial. Find out everything about him by the time I get back." He instructed before turning to Ziva.

"And you….you keep…you keep observing." Gibbs told her lamely. She blinked in confusion.

"What exactly Gibbs?" she asked him, trying to keep down her frustration. Gibbs stared down at her.

"I don't care, just do it quietly." He instructed before walking off. Ziva closed her eyes and took a deep breath, thoroughly annoyed with her lack of activity. She stiffly turned to Tony who was now at his desk.

"Now I know why he took all my weapons away." She grit out before walking over to her desk. I smiled in satisfaction.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in Abby's lab, Abby was busy welding different pieces of the circuit board of the cellphone in attempt to get it working again.

"That should do it." She told McGee proudly as she backed away from the giant magnifying glass she was using.

"That's what you said the last eight times." McGee countered with a sigh. Abby cocked her head in a slight pout.

"See that shows how much attention you pay to me…it was nine Timmy." She corrected and reached over to take a large sip of her Caf-pow. McGee shook his head and connected the wires to the circuit, to read the power on it.

"So did we do it, did we do it, did we do it? Did we fix the cellphone circuit board?" Abby rapidly asked with a slight slur at the end, while swaying childishly and sipping her Caf-pow.

"Hold on." McGee told her calmly.

"Come on. You're killing me McGee." She whined while still fidgeting. McGee looked at the reading and smiled.

"Yes. Yes, I think we fixed it, I think the circuits are…." He trailed off when he turned his head to see Abby's giant eyeball peering at him from the other side of the large magnifying glass. He frowned thoughtfully and pulled the device away from her.

"How many Caf-Pows have you had today Abby?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at her. Abby scoffed dismissively.

"You know…..the usual…." She trailed off as she wrung her hands and swayed back and forth.

"Mmm, trust me I think you've had more than the usual cause you're making me jumpy just looking at you." He countered with a look.

"Some people drown their sorrows in drugs and alcohol. I prefer caffeine." McGee squinted and flicked his eyes around in confusion. Drown her sorrows?

"Now fix the cellphone board and get cracking before Gibbs decides to crack you." Abby told him playfully, as she frowned in determination at the cellphone.

"You mean crack us." McGee corrected as he stood up.

"Gibbs would never hit a lady." Abby told him seriously.

"Exactly so I suggest we get started." McGee quipped, his expression neutral. Abby smiled in confusion before his joke dawned on her. Her smile slowly morphed into a playful glower.

...

Up in the office, it was now dark due to it being late in the day and Tony was at his desk working on the background information. With a sigh, he glanced up to check on Ziva who had been silent for a while. Claire had gone off a while ago, tracking down some information in another area of the building. He frowned when he didn't see anyone there, and stood up to get a better view over the divider between Ziva's and McGee's desk.

"Ziva?" he called.

"Yes?" a voice answered from behind him, making him jump. He jerked his head around to spot Ziva standing there innocently behind the small wall of his cubicle. He gave her a strained smile.

"First of all, don't ever do that again. And second…what are you doing?" he asked as she slowly made her way around his desk.

"I'm observing you Tony." She told him mysteriously. Tony watched her warily. Her constant closeness to him was starting to make him uncomfortable. And he was pretty sure she knew that.

"Any way you could do that in a less creepy manner?" he asked tilting his head. Ziva smiled up at him and turned her head to watch Gibbs come out of a nearby room with a pretty redheaded woman. The two of them were laughing quietly with one another.

"Who's the woman with Gibbs?" she asked, slinking to Tony's side.

"Yea, once you're here long enough you'll figure it out." He explained to her.

"Is that his girlfriend?" she asked impishly as the two of them watched the couple head towards the elevator.

"I have no idea." he whispered.

"You just told me…."

"Well, you'll figure out that there's some things around here that you don't ask about." Tony elaborated.

"Like you and Agent Conners?" She asked, pursing her lips. Tony's eyes squinted warningly.

"No…..because there's nothing there to begin with." He told her sternly, hoping she would drop the topic But Ziva wasn't biting.

"You two seem to be rather…..close." she pointed out. Tony sighed.

"That's just because we've been close friends since college and she's my partner. Naturally we would be close." He dismissed. Ziva quirked a brow, sensing that he was truly done discussing it. She turned to see Jenny Shepard walking up the stairs behind them. She was staring at Gibbs and the woman with something akin to jealously in her eyes. There was something between the two of them, she just couldn't pinpoint what. Gibbs kissed the woman on the cheek and headed back in the direction of the office.

"Where's Gibbs, Tony?" Ducky asked as he walked up to them from the other side.

"You're 2 o'clock." Tony told him. The two men looked up to meet each other half way in the bullpen.

"What's wrong Duck?" Gibbs asked.

"I know how our Staff Sergeant died." Ducky explained solemnly.

"From your look I'm guessing it wasn't a musket ball." Gibbs mused, looking over his friend's face curiously. With a nod Ducky led the way down to autopsy, with the agents trailing behind him. On the way Claire was walking towards them, after having finished following up her lead. Tony immediately grabbed her arm, spun her around in the other direction, and drug her along with the rest of them. Deep down he just wanted some buffer between him and Ziva. Claire's closeness he was more than ok with. And he knew that if Claire was there, Ziva would be less willing to come around.

...

Once they made it down the elevator to autopsy, Duck began explaining the situation.

"At first one would assume that a projectile of that size and mass would produce almost instant death." Ducky began, reaching over to put his gloves on.

"But pre-civil war muskets were notoriously unreliable. They lost most of their velocity over the first 100 meters. Our sergeant was grievously wounded by a musket ball." Ducky pointed out the large projectile in the base of the man's skull on the x-ray.

"But his injury was not fatal." Ducky explained to them. Claire frowned and looked back at the body, where Tony was standing. She smiled slightly at his grimace when looking at the very decayed corpse.

"Then how did he die Dr. Mallard?" Ziva asked, staring at the x-rays with a frown. Ducky walked over to the body, leading the remaining two agents in that direction.

"His lung tissue was coated with an extremely fine film of rust particles. One can only imagine how long he clawed at the iron sides of his casket." The agents stared at him silently. Ducky sat down at a stool next to the table.

"He tried to escape before he suffocated." Ducky told them, displaying the man's frayed fingers from where he scratched at his coffin. Tony closed his eyes in pain as the agents shared a disturbed look. No one wanted to say the horrifying deed aloud but they all knew what had happened. He was buried alive.


	36. Chapter 36

[Silver War 2] 

**...**

 **Tony's POV:**

The next morning the team was gathered around the big screen, a picture of the deceased marine on it. This morning I was too tired to care about how I looked so I opted for a casual sweatshirt and jeans. But in my defense, I did bring breakfast so my duty is done.

"A marine dressed as a civil war soldier shot by a musket. And then buried alive in a 140-year-old antique iron casket." Ziva began musing as she stared at the screen. Behind her the three of us nodded along distractedly as we stuffed our faces with the burritos we had just acquired curtesy of me. _These things were so freaking good._ I grinned widely at Claire with puffed cheeks when I noticed her staring at me in amusement. With a chuckle, she took a napkin and wiped off a bit of sauce that had apparently fallen onto my chin. I couldn't stop myself from smiling down at her fondly when she had to step closer towards me. Even in these simple moments I couldn't help but get lost in her bright blue eyes. As if she could feel my stare, she glanced up at me questioningly but I hastily shifted my eyes away. _Way to be subtle DiNozzo, now you're going to creep her out._

"And you're telling me this isn't your strangest case?" Ziva asked, turning to look at us questioningly. We all had just taken another large bite of breakfast so we just nodded with full mouths. I took a few more chews before answering.

"Yup." I confirmed briefly before getting back to my food.

"Pretty much." McGee told her in a muffled voice as he continued chewing.

"I don't know what I find me disturbing…..You're eating habits or the fact that I believe you." Ziva told them as she watched us chow down on the food ravenously.

"Eating habits, hands down." Claire offered. McGee and I shot her unamused stares.

"I'm sorry do our…strange American foods frighten you?" I joked, mimicking a news announcer before snickering at my own joke. Maybe if she couldn't handle our 'American ways' then she could find a new team. McGee joined in while Ziva laughed sarcastically. That threw me off a little but I wasn't about to let her know she was getting to me.

"Not at all, I was referring to your manners." Ziva corrected as she took a step closer. I didn't like where this was going. Out of the corner of my eye I could barely see Claire stiffening as Ziva approached my personal space. I paused and glanced at her warily when she was right up on me. _She really doesn't have any concept of personal boundaries._

"You should have bought me one." Ziva told me teasingly. _Was she flirting or just teasing me?_ Before I could whip out some sarcastic comment Ziva grabbed my hands that held the burrito and took a bite out of it. _She. Did. Not…._ My smile immediately dropped into a deep frown as I stared at my now tainted food. McGiggles however found it amusing. Ziva nodded and quietly moaned as she indicated that it was delicious, just making me even more irritated. I heard McGee cough in amusement and looked over at me with a grin. I smiled sarcastically at him before settling on a venomous glare. He was not to encourage this.

"I'm gonna go see Abby." He dismissed himself once he realized I was not happy with him. Claire glanced between me and Ziva and frowned before turning to go sit at her desk. I looked down at the food again forlornly. _Yes, I was bothered by Ziva touching my food, but now Claire was obviously upset. Wasn't I making it obvious that I didn't enjoy Ziva's forwardness with me? I hope she doesn't think that she makes me all flustered because I like her. It was actually quite the opposite. If I didn't get a handle on this, Ziva is going to ruin my chances with her._ I was abruptly brought out of my thoughts when Ziva grabbed my hands again. I watched her in disgruntlement as she tried to take another bite but this time I yanked it away from her. She needed to lay off all this touchy feely, teasing, assassin, seductress vibe that she kept pushing onto me. It was getting annoying. I glared at the food once more before shoving it into her hands, suddenly not hungry anymore.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"She seems to be fitting in very well." Jenny Shepherd remarked as she and Gibbs watched the interaction from the stairs above the bullpen. Gibbs stared at her in surprise. Had they just watched the same thing happen?

"She almost killed my entire team yesterday." Gibbs told her dryly.

"How so?" Jenny asked warily.

"Driving home from a crime scene." Gibbs explained, recounting the story that his agents had told him after they returned from the terrifying ordeal. They wanted to make sure that Gibbs never did that to them again. The job was dangerous enough. Jenny smiled and nodded in understanding.

"I should have warned you. I think she was an Eastern European cab driver in a past life." She joked, trying to get Gibbs to lighten up on the situation.

"Well she wasn't a cop." Gibbs quipped, not taking the bait. They watched as Ziva perched herself on the edge of Tony's desk, even though it was obvious he didn't want her there. He bristled as she reached across him to take some of his soda too. Gibb's eyes drifted over to Claire who was watching the interaction with narrowed eyes. It was blatantly obvious that Claire had a strong dislike with Ziva just as a person, and her constant badgering of Tony only added fuel to the fire. Gibbs had picked up on the subtle change between his two agents. Tony and Claire started this job as friends but as it progressed he could see the lingering glances and the blushing at comments that would have meant nothing a few months ago. It was amusing to watch in all honestly. He knew that they were aware of his rules and trusted that they would be very considerate of them. Yet at the same time, from a parental standpoint, he was interested to see where exactly these mounting feelings would take them.

"She doesn't have any investigative or law enforcement experience Jen." Gibbs told her in complaint. He still wasn't sold on the idea of keeping Ziva. Especially if she was going to be causing trouble within his family.

"Neither did it when I first started with you." Jenny pointed out. Gibbs straightened up.

"Yea well you were always a fast learner." He pointed out, his lips barely quirking up into a thoughtful smile. The two shared a knowing glance as they each thought back on memories that would remain in the past.

...

"You sure you don't want it back Tony?" Ziva gestured to her new breakfast as she stared at him from her spot on his desk.

"Most men don't usually have a problem with my germs." She added coyly. Tony's eyes twitched in annoyance as he turned back to his computer. Maybe at one point he would have eagerly played into her charms but now he only had his sights set on one woman. Yet he knew that it would take a lot of work to curb his playboy habits if he had any chance of getting Claire's attention. He printed something off and glared at Ziva before walking away and towards the printer on the other side of the room.

"I got a lead on how our Staff Sergeant ended up in a union soldier uniform." Tony informed Claire as he plucked the paper out of the tray. She looked up at him, indicating for him to continue.

"He was a member of a local CW…" Tony stopped abruptly as he nearly ran into Ziva who was standing very close to him now. She stared up at him innocently despite the glares of annoyance from the two partners.

"…CWR out of Fairfax." He finished before maneuvering his way around her.

"CWR?" Ziva asked with interest, yanking the paper out of his hands. Tony paused and stood there waiting to get the paper back.

"Yea, Civil War Reenactor's. Guys get together dressing in period costumes, reenacting famous battles." Claire explained.

"Why?" Ziva asked them with a frown.

"I've been asking my father that since I was 10 years old." Tony told her stiffly, the bad memories flashing through his mind. Claire bit her lip as she smiled, knowing exactly what Tony was thinking about. He caught it and frowned at her silently communicating that 'it wasn't funny, it was traumatizing'. She merely rose a brow innocently. Their silent conversation way broken when Ziva spoke up once more.

"According to this, they're preparing for one of those battles this week in Manassas." She told them while scanning the paper. Tony tried to snatch the paper but she held onto to it tightly so she merely glanced at him.

"Quiet the coincidence." She mused. This time Tony managed to take it out of her hands and smiled at her tightly.

"And in the immortal words of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, 'I don't believe in coincidences.'" Tony told her, attempting to sound like Gibbs but sounding more like Humphrey Bogart.

"Is that a fact DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he walked into the area.

"Hey boss. Uh I was just telling Ziva about this lead that I…" he winced as his head was struck from behind as Gibbs passed.

"Yea I heard." Gibbs muttered. Ziva bit her lip in an attempt to keep in her laugh at seeing Tony's reaction.

"Come on Abby's found something let's roll." Gibbs instructed before heading off in that direction.

"It's an American custom. Like a form of affection." Tony stuttered to Ziva, trying to pass off the head slap.

"Really now?" Ziva mused, obviously not buying it.

"Yea." Claire chimed in teasingly and reached over to smack Tony herself. He winced and smiled at Claire sarcastically, trying to keep up his façade. Ziva chuckled.

"Seemed like Shwofta Stooges to me." Ziva quipped, and the other two frowned in confusion.

"Like what?" he asked, looking at her dumbly. Ziva smiled and started imitating the eye poke thing that the 3 stooges were known for.

"Larry, Mo, Curly…yes?" she continued as she began to saunter away. Claire rolled her eyes before following Ziva, muttering under her breath. Tony dutifully followed behind the two.

...

Down in the lab McGee was staring at the casket on the evidence table when Gibbs, Claire, Tony, and Ziva entered. Immediately their brows furrowed as they walked into some sad jazz music instead of the usual techno rock. Gibbs walked over to Abby's office where a woman in a purple suit with dark black hair stood with her back to the agents. Gibbs frowned in confusion.

"Abbs?" he asked questioningly.

"I look like a freak." Abby pouted, struggling to turn around in her new office heels. As she faced them, their eyes widened in shock at her new outfit. This was very wrong. She was wearing a drab purple work suit, a white blouse and her face was free of makeup with her hair pushed back in a headband. It was very un-Abby like.

"Well?" she asked, with a sad frown. Tony gasped out a 'whoa' and the agents slowly walked closer.

"See I don't think she really looks that bad." McGee told them seriously.

"Is she making a reference to that strange tattoo on her neck?" Ziva asked as she pressed against Tony's shoulder. Tony frowned and swatted her away from him.

"Why?" Gibbs asked as they stared at her in shock. Abby picked up a paper from her desk and wobbled her way over to them.

"One of the director's new ADMIN weenies brought me this last night." Abby explained as she handed the paper to Gibbs.

"It's the NCIS dress code. They said I was in violation" she added while teetering unsteadily on her feet.

"He did, did he?" Gibbs murmured as he read over the paper.

"It's bad enough that I have to wear a monkey suit for court appearances, but every day?" Abby asked in exasperation. Ziva walked over to her.

"I think you look nice, Abby." She told her with a friendly smile. Abby frowned and stared at the woman like she had just killed her pet.

"Nice?...you think I look nice?!" she asked irritably. Ziva looked back at the others in confusion. Had she said something wrong?

"How could you say that?!" Claire snapped at Ziva, causing the others to become even more confused.

"She looks horrible!" Claire gestured wildly to the lab technician in front of them. Tony and McGee stared at her in shock. Why would she say something like that out loud? Sure, they were all thinking it but wasn't it like an unspoken rule not to tell women that. Abby gasped and pulled her hands over her heart.

"Thank you. You're a true friend Claire." Abby whispered thankfully, shocking the younger agents even more. What? Claire nodded and walked over to hug Abby in comfort.

"I get it. This is so not you Abby." Claire assured.

"I look like….like…" Abby trailed off as she got flustered but Tony filled in the blanks for her.

"Career girl Barbie." Tony finished in realization before whipping his head to look at McGee. He looked back at him as he realized that too. Abby lifted her head to stare at them with distress while Claire glared at them pointedly. Could they make things any worse? Idiots.

"Oh my god…I do." She whispered in despair and touched her suit softly as the realization sunk in. Abby whimpered in disgust and tried to rush back into her office but it was hard with the heels.

"I can't work like this Gibbs." She told him.

"I'll take care of it Abbs." Gibbs assured her. She walked into her office and grabbed Bart her farting hippo in comfort as she rambled, obviously in distress.

"I'm allergic to polyester it makes me itch. It's a medical condition, I can get a note from the doctor…." She started spewing off but Gibbs rushed in to comfort her.

"Abbs…..Abbs I said I'll take care of it." He told her once she had calmed down. Abby smiled at him thankfully before hugging her hippo close. ***FART*** Ziva scrunched her nose in confusion and turned to the others as she heard the noise.

"Don't ask." Tony told her, already knowing the question. Sometimes it was better not trying to explain Abby to outsiders.

"Can we get back to work now?" Gibbs asked as he held onto Abby's shoulders. She pursed her lips in thought.

"Do I have to wear the shoes?" she asked. Gibbs frowned and roughly balled up the paper in front of her before throwing it away pointedly. Abby smiled in response.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

"The circuit board in the cellphone was damaged, but we managed to get it working again." Abby explained from behind her computers. Once she was rid of her shoes, the techno music came back on and she was working contentedly behind her computer desk barefooted. She hadn't had time to change out of her atrocious 'work attire' but at least now she could walk properly.

"The battery shut down on October 3, 2004."

"Before that 22 calls were made to 911." McGee explained as they put up the list of phone calls up on the big screen for the rest of the team to see.

"None of them went through." Abby added.

"He was calling from inside the casket." Tony muttered in understanding.

"Yup, cask iron and buried underground." McGee added as explanation as to why they didn't go through.

"I don't think anyone's calling plan extends that far tony." I quipped. Tony glanced over at me with a playful glare before turning back to the screen. I grinned to myself, secretly pleased that he found me funny. Gosh now I sound like some cliché teenager pining over her first crush.

"What is this last entry here?" Gibbs asked, looking over the long line of dialed numbers at the end of the list.

"Um he was running out of oxygen boss, I assume he just trying to dial another number at random." McGee answered with a shrug.

"Find out." Gibbs instructed before making his way back to the casket, the rest of us following behind dutifully.

"What did you pull from the tomb, Abs" he asked glancing down at the evidence in front of him.

"Um there were traces of staff sergeant Sorrow's blood inside the cover." Abby started, as she turned to look over the casket too.

"Most likely from when he tried to claw his way out." Ziva imputed.

"Since his fingers were shredded that must have been really hard to figure out…Agent David." Abby muttered sarcastically, and purposefully mispronounced her last name. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep my face straight. I may have unintentionally added fuel to her hate fire towards Ziva when I vented about how she was all over Tony when he clearly didn't want the attention. Not that I was jealous or anything, I'm just not happy that some people didn't respect personal boundaries. Ziva stared at the wall in front of her, biting her lip in annoyance at Abby's purposeful dig.

"It's pronounce Da-Veed. And you can just call me Ziva." she corrected with a strained smile. Abby didn't answer but turned back to the task at hand.

"I also found two very distinct types of dirt on the outside. The first is red clay, which is very common in Virginia. And the other had a high concentration of fertilizer." Abby explained, gesturing to the dirt marks on the outside of the casket.

"Tony, when is your meeting with the construction company that found this?" Gibbs asked.

"0900" Tony answered, watching his boss expectantly.

"Claire, take Ziva with you and see if there's anything left at that crime scene." Gibbs ordered. The tow of us instantly shot a wary look at one another.

"Gibbs don't you think…" I began to protest but quickly shut up by the steely gaze of Gibbs. He was trying to force us to get along and I couldn't get out of it. I sighed and nodded compliantly before walking out of autopsy to get ready. Ziva watched Gibbs and Abby for a moment longer before trailing after me, her gaze lingering on Abby questioningly.

...

"Tell me you have a shower here." Ziva muttered tiredly as she stood next to me in the elevator. Ziva was covered with dirt from head to toe while I was leaning on the wall smug and squeaky clean. I was seriously considering requesting Ziva to tag along with me more often, I quite enjoyed it. Ziva not so much but she couldn't protest as she was still a Jr. Agent.

"We do, but only for biological and chemical emergencies." I explained as we walked out of the elevator.

"Wonderful." Ziva growled.

"Well you were the one who said you were sick of observing." I countered with an impish grin. She wanted to be helpful so I let her. Ziva sneered at me. Apparently, we didn't agree.

"You made me crawl through a dump truck full of dirt." She growled in protest.

"Well there could have been valuable evidence in there." I pointed out dismissively.

"There wasn't!" she spat back at me.

"Well yea. Thanks to you we now know that." I mockingly praised, just egging this on. Tony looked up as the two of us strolled into the bullpen and he choked back a laugh at Ziva's appearance.

"How'd it go?" Gibbs asked, staring at the two of us in amusement. I made my way over to his desk, Ziva and Tony following.

"Nothing boss. The building site was clean." I explained but glanced over at Ziva and grinned.

"Figuratively speaking." I added with a snicker. Tony ducked his head and chuckled at the pun.

"Very." Ziva muttered in agreement.

"We taped off the area but were not going to find anything." I elaborated, getting back to the seriousness of why we went there. Gibbs glanced over Ziva's dirty form before glancing up at me knowingly. However, before he could comment, McGee and Abby came rushing into the bullpen.

"Gibbs we did it!" Abby chirped as she reached his desk.

"Did what Abs?"

"Those random numbers weren't random after all boss." McGee explained, getting Gibb's attention.

"Staff sergeant Sorrow, was leaving us a text message….from the grave." Abby told us, grinning in mock evilness at the end. Gibbs leaned forwards and looked at her expectantly.

"When you put the numbers into the cellphones text converter you get this." Abby showed us, clicking on the mouse to initiate the converter, which slowly revealed what the message was.

"Only got half oxbow, not on his side. Kerns let him get safety deposit box." McGee read off the screen. Tony squinted at the screen in confusion.

"That's it?" he asked skeptically.

"He was buried alive Tony….what did you expect a soliloquy" Ziva snapped at him sarcastically. Tony slowly turned his head to glare at the snarky woman before looking at me knowingly.

"This is all your fault." He whispered accusingly. I jerked back in offense at first but realized he wasn't serious. I shrugged my shoulders indifferently. It probably was my fault that she was in such a foul mood, but quite frankly I could care less.

"We ran his socials through the banking system. Staff sergeant Sorrow has a safety deposit box paid for 5 years at the North Virginia Savings and Trust." Abby told us.

"McGee, get me a…."

"Warrant, already called one in boss." McGee finished for him.

"DiNozzo, oxbow and kerns?" Gibbs ordered.

"On it boss." Tony nodded before heading to his desk.

"Get me into that safety deposit box and take Ziva with you." Gibbs told McGee, who dashed off to grab the car keys. I guess he's just pushing her onto each of us to see if she could fit in anywhere. Obviously, Tony and I weren't working out that well. We worked better together anyway and I know McGee is too nice to be childish like we have.

"Is there somewhere I can clean up?" Ziva asked in exasperation, looking to Gibbs and gesturing to her dirt smudged face.

"Yea sure…..tonight when you go home" Gibbs told her before walking off. Abby sweetly smiled at the agent, and Ziva sent her an equally strained smile back before walking after McGee.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In town McGee and Ziva were walking down the sidewalk headed towards the bank where the safety deposit box. Ziva had dusted off her filthy clothes and was wiping her face down with a towelette as they walked through the square out front.

"You know let me help you with that" McGee offered, reaching for the wipe but Ziva jerked back in offense.

"I'm not a child." She spat at him and continued wiping down the sides of her neck to get the dirt off. McGee sighed.

"I'm just trying to help." He told her. Ziva stared at him for a moment before reluctantly handing him the wipe.

"You may get what I missed." She agreed, thankful for the genuine kindness instead of the cold shoulders she's been getting all day.

"Thank you" McGee muttered before glancing at her face and wiping off the bits of dirt left behind. Ziva sighed as he worked and glanced at him thoughtfully.

"Is Tony always so um…"

"Yea." McGee nodded. Ziva nodded thoughtfully.

"Claire?"

"Depends." McGee shrugged. She had been picky about who she was cold to. Recently it involved women who hung around Tony….now that he thought about it….

"Do the two of them usually?..." Ziva asked, indicating their almost instinctive teaming up. McGee nodded vigorously.

"Oh all the time." He assured.

"And Gibbs?"

"Oh yea."

"And Abby?" she asked in exasperation, thinking that everyone was always this cold to newcomers. On that one McGee paused.

"Uh….Abby's usually nice." He told her apologetically. Abby was the only one that was surprisingly cold towards the newcomer, usually she was the nicest out of all of them. Ziva pursed her lips in understanding.

"So it's me. I guess I have that effect on people" she mused bitterly.

"Well it's,…..it's not you Ziva. This past month has been hard on everyone. But I'm glad you're here." McGee told her.

"Yes?" she asked as the two continued towards the bank.

"Yup, it means I'm not the newbie anymore." He elaborated. Ziva laughed and McGee continued on towards the door of the bank. He stopped and turned back when he realized Ziva had stopped and was watching her surroundings warily.

"What's wrong?" McGee called curiously.

"Nothing…..still getting used to America I suppose." She brushed off before following him inside.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

As it turned out at the bank McGee and Ziva fond the deposit box, which contained a mummified hand holding an old map and a signet ring. Then as they headed out the door with the evidence a man hidden by a ballcap and sunglasses threatened them with a gun and took the map from them before shoving them both into the fountain outside so they couldn't follow him. Tony and I had a good laugh at the two agent's sopping wet forms as they trudged back into NCIS. I made sure they went to change into cleaner clothes before approaching Gibbs with the news. Poor McGee was terrified to tell Gibbs about it. When they came back, Ziva who had changed into some extra NCIS sweats retreated to her desk and began sketching something in a stray notebook. McGee reluctantly walked over to Gibb's desk to explain.

"Boss I…I…I…I'm sorry, I screwed up and it won't happen again." McGee apologized.

"It wasn't your fault." I told him honestly. McGee sent me a grateful smile.

"She's right. They used us. They used us to get into that safety deposit box." Gibbs added.

"Well he already knew what he wanted, all he asked for was the map." McGee added thoughtfully. Gibbs turned to look at him sharply.

"Map? What map, the map of what?" he asked.

"Well I didn't really get a good look at it." He sheepishly told Gibbs.

"Maybe it was a treasure map Probie." Tony chimed in teasingly from his desk.

"You know like gold, diamonds, silver…" Tony began, already building up to some movie impression before Gibbs cut him off.

"It wasn't like one of your dumb ass movies DiNozzo." Gibbs scolded.

"Sorry boss." Tony muttered apologetically. McGee picked up the remote and zoomed in on a figure in the security pictures they got from the bank.

"We need to find this guy; he claims he was staff sergeant Sorrow's brother." McGee began.

"I might have a name for him. at least some words from Sorrow's farewell message." Tony told us, from behind.

"Oxbow and kerns?" Tony pointed out, referring back to the names in the text. McGee shot a look over to Gibbs.

"Oxbow was the name on the map. The other name might be his." McGee suggested. Gibbs nodded and grabbed the paper that Tony had brought over to them.

"Judd Kerns, a member of the same civil war outfit our staff sergeant belonged to." Tony explained, watching Gibbs scan over the document.

"Address?" Gibbs asked.

"Yea but he's not there." Tony countered, causing Gibbs to stare up at him in question.

"The club is on their way to battlefield park near Manassas. Should be there by this afternoon." Tony explained evenly.

"McGee what else do you remember about the map?" Gibbs asked, standing up to look at the younger agent. McGee sighed, knowing he couldn't help much but Ziva chimed in before he could answer.

"I think I can help with that." She suggested, walking over to deliver her sketch to Gibbs. We all stared down at an accurate replica of a map that she had drawn from memory.

"At Mossad officers who fail to observe don't generally last long." She added as a casual explanation. Tony hummed in amusement.

"And at NCIS they apparently get drop kicked into water fountains." he quipped with a grin. Ziva chuckled dryly.

"That would have never happened if I had my weapon." She assured.

"Ah of course. But hey look on the bright side, at least now you're clean." I pointed out. Ziva sent me a withering look but didn't comment.

"McGee find out what this is a map of." Gibbs ordered, handing him the drawing and McGee scurried off with a nod. Gibbs looked over at Ziva and grinned in approval at her contribution but didn't say anything. Ziva smiled back before walking over to her desk.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Gibbs had come back up from Abby's lab where Doctor Mallard, Abby, and the lady Doctor from the Smithsonian were figuring out where the map was leading to.

"Boss, his club checked in with the park rangers. Judd Kerns is there now, are we rolling?" Tony eagerly asked as he hung up the phone and stood up.

"Nope, not yet." Gibbs countered as he dug through his desk and pulled out the guns they had taken from Ziva earlier. She took a double take as he walked over to her, holding out her weapons.

"Gear up." He instructed. Ziva beamed and eagerly took back her weapons, strapping them in hastily. Once she had her weapons Gibbs lead the way out of the bullpen, Tony, Claire, and McGee following behind dutifully but not without sharing an unsure glance with one another. Ziva glanced up to see that she was the last one and dashed off after them, slipping in just as the elevator doors were closing.

...

At the battlefield, the team plus Ducky and the lady Doctor were watching as the reenactors shoot off cannons and muskets to simulate an actual battle. Claire looked over at Tony curiously as he flinched when a cannon went off. He had told her the story and knew that this place held bad memories for him.

"Bring back memories for you Tony?" McGee asked casually.

"That looks like fun." Ziva mused, watching the actors curiously.

"You know what little Anthony DiNozzo's job was during these reenactments Ziva?" Tony asked her, staring accusingly at the actors in front of him.

"Little drummer boy?" she guessed.

"No…I would carry around a bucket so these guys could take a dump. They called me….their little poo boy." He explained with a haunted stare. Instantly the other three began to snicker at the name. Tony shot an accusing glare towards Claire as she tried to stifle her giggle.

"I'm sorry Tony, but you have to admit it's a little funny." She smiled apologetically. Gibbs walked back over to the group, after talking with one of the 'officers'.

"Kerns was out here dressed as a union sergeant." He explained to them and turned to McGee, Tony and Claire.

"You three with me." He instructed and turned back to Ziva.

"You got with them and see if you can match any of the landmarks on the map." With that the 4 agents walked off into the camp to find their sergeant.

...

 **Ziva's POV:**

Watching the rest of 'my team' walk off in search of the sergeant I sighed and reached into my pocket for the copy of the map that I drew. I wasn't sure how I felt about going solo right now. This was nothing new for me in Mossad, but here I was trying to fit in with the rest of the people I was going to be working with. Then again maybe this is a test on how well I can do my job. I never really know with Gibbs, he puzzles me.

"Suggestions doctors?" I asked. The lady doctor walked over and peered over my shoulder.

"Let me look." she muttered. As she held the map she looked up and scanned the scenery in front of them for any landmarks.

"By the orientation of the map, I suggest we start by some of my old dig sites, to the north." She pointed off into the distance.

"Unless….may I?" Ducky offered. With a nod she turned it over to him as he explained.

"During times of war map makers often add terrain or change the direction of north and south in order to confuse…."

"Confuse the enemy before it fell into the wrong hands." I finished off for him.

"Yes, very good Ziva." He mused, looking over at me with an appreciative grin. At least someone likes me at NCIS.

"What puzzles me about this map is this confederate flag in the corner." He pointed to the picture.

"It is unfurled in the opposite direction of most flags." I realized, catching on to what he was saying.

"Precisely." Ducky agreed and we turned the map 'upside down'.

"I think we should start looking to the south." Ducky told them. I nodded at him with a grin before leading them over in that direction. I took notice that the woman was a bit hesitant to head in this direction but I didn't think much of it.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Over in the camp, the agents walked around and scanned for their suspect.

"Boss, your three o'clock, red stripes." Tony indicated to him lowly, so as not to raise suspicion. The agents turned to look at the man who was talking with another. As if feeling eyes on him Kerns turned in their direction and his eyes widened in alarm.

"That's the man from the bank video." McGee informed.

"Ten bucks says he's gonna make a run for it." Claire muttered to Tony under her breath.

"Deal." He agreed, staring at the man calmly in hopes to get him to stay put. Gibbs raised up his badge and the man took off in the opposite direction.

"Oh he's gone." Tony muttered as the agents took off parallel to his path in hopes to catch up.

"This is bad." Tony added as the agents ducked under the low branches of the trees while they raced after the man.

"Ya think?" Gibbs snapped. Claire and Tony took up the lead and pumped their arms hard as they pushed themselves to cut Kerns off.

"Double or nothing that I catch him first." Claire grunted as she tried to pace herself as they sprinted. Tony huffed and shot her an incredulous look.

"You ran track at Ohio State and placed at a national level. I don't think that's fair!" he countered, his lungs starting to burn. Claire chuckled breathlessly.

"You scared Tony? Besides I'm out of shape for track." She prodded teasingly. Tony wasn't one to back down from a challenge and he was enjoying the banter while they continued the chase.

"Fine." he grunted. They all came out on the other side of the small grove but Kerns was just ahead of them, still sprinting at top speeds.

"Son of a…." Gibbs muttered angrily as the four of them followed after. Claire caught her second wind and pushed herself even harder into a dead sprint after the man. Tony and Gibbs fell slightly behind as she started gaining on their suspect. With one last burst she lept forward and tackled the guy onto the grass, sending both of them tumbling. Kerns groaned in pain as he laid on his stomach with the female agent on sitting on top of him. Gibbs was the first one to reach her and cuffed the guy on the ground while Tony walked up next to him, hands on his knees as he heaved in deep breaths. Claire stood up stiffly and mimicked his posture, struggling to gain her own breath back.

"Oh god I'm really out of shape." She moaned, feeling her whole body burning. Tony glared at her teasingly.

"Whatever." He muttered. They looked at each other and huffed out a laugh before turning back to Gibbs.

"Not bad boss, I thought you were still behind me…..until Claire tackled him." Tony quipped and straightened up to gain more air.

"Not likely DiNozzo." Gibbs countered as he tried to gain back his own breath. Just then McGee came running over, having just now caught up in the chase.

"What's his excuse?" Tony asked, jabbing a thumb in McGee's direction. McGee glared over at him as he panted.

...

Meanwhile after some trekking through the woods, Ziva and the two doctors made their way to a cemetery with a familiar marking on the gate.

"It wasn't an 'X' on the map." she mused.

"It was a cross." Ducky added, gesturing to the cross on the gate. Their heads whipped around in confusion as the sounds of a power tool could be heard from just around the corner.

"Ducky wait here and call Gibbs. Tell him to hurry." Ziva instructed and made her way towards the noise with her gun drawn. She snuck her way through the cover of the nearby tress to find two men by an iron casket. One was unscrewing the bolts with a power took it open while the other, dressed as a union solider, was watching.

"We need to hurry this up." The soldier snapped.

"Well that's it." The other man shrugged as he tossed aside the last screw. They both reached down and yanked on the top of it to pry it off. It came open with a loud groan and was tossed aside to reveal an assortment of antique guns.

"They buried these things so the south could rise again. And now they are all mine." The soldier smiled as he turned one of them over in his hands. Ziva used this moment to pop out of her hiding spot and come up behind them.

"Well there's gotta be 50 of them in here." The man's partner marveled.

"35 grand a pop." Union man told him.

"That's uh…"

"1.5 million." Ziva answered for him. The two jumped and looked up to see the Israeli woman pointing her gun at them. One of the men glanced over at his own weapon.

"Your rifle is 10 feet away…I wouldn't recommend trying it." Ziva pursed her lips in disapproval.

...

"I didn't do anything wrong." Kerns insisted once they got him off the ground.

"Yea, what about resisting arrest Kerns. And what's that other charge mcgee?" Tony feigned forgetfulness and looked over at his partner curiously.

"Murdering staff sergeant Warren Sorrow." He answered without sparing a glance at the man. Kerns froze.

"Sorrow's dead. No way, you guys can't pin that on me. I wouldn't." Kerns shook his head frantically, looking between the two of them.

"They told me he got scared and took off." Kerns explained.

"He was buried alive…in a coffin, dirt bag." Claire countered harshly. Kerns started sniffling shakily.

"I didn't sign up for this." He muttered tearfully.

"All she said I had to do was distract you." He told them.

"DiNozzo, Conners come on." Gibbs ordered hurriedly, getting of his cell. The agents shot him a curious look but didn't ask as they followed.

...

"Ducky? Ducky where is Gibbs?" Ziva called once she had both men on their knees.

"Ducky can't answer right now." The lady doctor answered as she walked behind Ducky with a gun pointed at his head. Ziva glanced in their direction and as she did one of the men shifted towards his gun. He froze one more when Ziva turned her gun back his way.

"Drop the gun. Now, or he dies." The woman ordered. Ziva whipped around to face her. When the others shifted she whipped back around, trying to keep an eye on everyone but it was proving difficult.

"Shoot her Ziva, she'll only kill both of us." Ducky suggested calmly as he watched Ziva frantically shift back and forth between the two groups, trying to decide who was more important to guard. After a moment of tension Ziva raised one of her hands compliantly and let her gun go slack. She glanced over at the diggers while slowly lowering to set down her gun.

"And those weapons? That is why you killed that poor staff sergeant?" she asked.

"He found Ooxbow's casket on the map. He actually wanted to turn them in to a museum." The woman scoffed.

"The only mistake we made was killing him before we got the map." The union man chimed in.

"You two will be the unfortunate victims of scavengers." The woman pouted and shoved Ducky to the ground next to Ziva. As she raised her gun to shoot Ziva, the agent reached to her side and in one swift moment launched her knife at the doctor.

...

In the woods, Gibbs jerked his head up in alarm as the sound of a gunshot could be heard. Instantly the three of them took off towards the noise, racing into the clearing to find the lady doctor on the ground dead, a knife in her chest, and Ziva pointing her weapon at the other two men calmly. Tony stared at her calm composure and huffed.

"Remind me not to piss her off." He mused.

"Oh DiNozzo you have no idea." Gibbs quipped as they stared over at her. Ziva shot them both a wink but didn't argue.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Once everything had been cleared up and everyone arrested that was responsible, the team headed back to NCIS to file our paperwork. Gibbs had been the last one to leave besides me. I had some things to think about and needed the extra time alone. As I grabbed some coffee from the break room I thought back to Ziva. She had clearly proven herself in the field today and I would be blind not to acknowledge it. In truth she wasn't all that bad, a little rough around the edges but not a horrible person. As I walked back to the bullpen I started a little when I saw Ziva staring up at me from Kate's desk. The room was dark and she was sitting there with the overhead lamp on to illuminate her face.

"I thought you went home?" I pointed out curiously.

"I was going to but Gibbs mentioned that you had something you wanted to talk to me about." She answered, looking up at me expectantly. I rolled my eyes in exasperation. Leave it to Gibbs to pick up on how I was feeling and meddling in my personal life. Then again I was almost glad he told her. It made it easier for me to bring it up.

"Um, I just wanted to advise you to back off of Tony a bit." I told her calmly. Ziva raised a brow at me curiously, an impish grin crossing her face.

"No! I don't mean it like how it came out!..." I stuttered, instantly reddening at how that must have sounded. I sighed and tried again.

"I mean that he isn't big on being played with emotionally and with you always hovering around him and making innuendo's kinda makes him uncomfortable." I elaborated. Ziva nodded her head thoughtfully.

"Then why doesn't he tell me this himself?" she asked.

"Because he's too proud for his own good. He probably thinks it'll make him less manly to admit he's uncomfortable around a woman." I told her in amusement. Ziva chuckled.

"That's why I'm saying it. I'm his partner and it's my job to take care of the things he won't do himself." I added thoughtfully. Ziva nodded in understanding.

"I do not mean cause you all discomfort around me. That would probably explain a lot." She mused sheepishly. I nodded silently because I couldn't really argue with her.

"Does this mean that you are accepting me now?" she asked curiously, her eyes showing some vulnerability. I understood that sometimes it was hard being the newbie, especially coming into a group as close as ours was. I pursed my lips thoughtfully before answering.

"Not yet. I still have some grudges and uncertainties about you. But maybe that will change in time. This is just me giving you advise on how to stay on my good side." I told her, smirking a bit at the end. Ziva smiled and nodded thankfully. We may not be friends right now, but at least we can get to the point where we can be amiable with one another.


	37. Chapter 37

[Switch:1]

......

 **Claire's POV:**

Up in the bullpen McGee was hastily typing away at his desk as he had been for the past hour, when Tony swooped in, tossing his bag over behind his desk.

"Hey! Finish that database yet Probie?" he asked eagerly. McGee glanced over at him with a frown before looking back at his computer.

"Yesterday." He answered dryly.

"Well then it should have been on my desk, yesterday shouldn't it?" Tony mused as he yanked his rolling desk chair under his desk, picking up the files on his desk.

"I didn't realize a compilation of nudy bars was that urgent." I asked him curiously.

"Well it is." Tony countered eagerly, swiveling around in his chair. _Well isn't he just a ball of energy today._ McGee glanced over at him curiously.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't have to explain myself to a junior agent." Tony muttered, looking back down at the file on his desk.

"Ok, it this work related because….."

"…because what? Just this once…." Tony began pleadingly, making his way over towards McGee's desk.

"It's a mission of mercy Probie. A buddy of mine is getting married to a particularly unpleasant beast of a woman." He explained with a grimace.

"Wait a minute is this the friend who's engaged to Sophie?" I asked him curiously. Tony nodded reluctantly.

"Oh she hates me." I mused.

"Thus why you were not invited to the wedding." Tony pointed out. I shrugged indifferently.

"Speaking of which, you should come anyway just to spite her." He suggested but I could read his ulterior motives.

"No, Tony I will not be your plus one at that vile woman's wedding." I shot down with a grin. Tony groaned in defeat, causing me to chuckle.

"So why does all of this matter?" McGee prodded, staring between the two of us. Tony's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"So?...so his bachelor party will be the only thing that sustains him for the rest of his miserable existence." Tony elaborated dramatically, leaning his arms on McGee's desk. McGee nodded.

"I will print it out as soon as I'm finished with this." He told him, gesturing to his computer screen.

"On behalf of men everywhere we thank you Probie." Tony grinned.

"What are you working on?" he asked as an afterthought, darting to stand behind McGee to look at his computer.

"Well I'm reviewing my credit card statements. There appear to be some anomalies." Mcgee mumbled irritably.

"Like what?" I asked curiously, getting up to stand behind McGee on his other side. Tony scanned over the list, taking note of the items that were highlighted.

"50 DVD copies of Forest..h..Hump." Tony gasped out, trying not to laugh at his discovery.

"Yea see I don't even know what a Forest Hump is." Mcgee glared at the screen in confusion.

"It's like Forest Gump with naked people, McGee." I explained, trying to break it to him gently. McGee looked up at me in alarm.

"Huh?" he muttered.

"It's a porno." Tony told him with a chuckle. McGee and I looked over at him curiously.

"…or so I've been told." He amended innocently.

"Uh huh…" I hummed in disbelief. Tony shot me a glare.

"How did you know what it was?" he shot back at me defensively. I started, not expecting the question.

"Well I mean the name is kinda obvious…." I explained.

"It could have been a spoof. How did you know it wasn't?" Tony pressed with an impish grin. I straightened up and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I don't have to explain myself to you." I quipped evasively.

"Fine then don't question my knowledge on this stuff." Tony suggested.

"Fine." I shrugged.

"Fine." he muttered. McGee let out a sigh of exasperation as he shook his head at the screen, ignoring our little spat for the moment.

"This…is obviously an error with the credit card company." Mcgee muttered, not believing that was under his statement records. Tony knelt down next to his chair as he settled in to read more of the highlighted statements while I leaned farther over McGee's shoulder.

"Oh, or its identity theft." Tony suggested. McGee shook his head in denial.

"That's not possible. I use a secure browser, and….and…and…the latest firewall protection." He explained.

"Well look at that a $5,000 dollar charge from John Deere." Tony pointed out with a skeptical grin. McGee stared at the screen in shock.

"Payment on that combine you always dreamed of Probie?" Tony teased as he enjoyed McGee's misfortune.

"Put the farm equipment on hold…" Gibbs interjected as he entered the office, causing Tony and I to jump up and scurry over towards our desks.

"A sailor was shot on route 249." Gibbs explained as he reached into his desk for his gun.

"Tony, grab the gear. Green Acres." Gibbs added, turning towards McGee.

"Gas the truck." He ordered, tossing the Tim the keys.

"Where the hell is David?" Gibbs shouted, looking over at the empty desk beside his.

"Boss officer David…is…uhhh…" Tony stuttered, not knowing where she was.

"Late!" Ziva called, swiftly making her way to her desk, saving Tony from answering.

"I took the wrong bus this morning. Had to walk from the 18th street stop." She explained as the group turned to look at her.

"That's a tough part of town." Tony mused, staring at her small sunhat that clashed against her army green jacket and pants.

"I've been in worse." Ziva shrugged.

"It won't happen again Gibbs." She assured, watching Gibbs stare at her emotionlessly.

"I know." He muttered before heading towards the elevator. Tony, McGee and I shared a knowing wide-eyed look before following after him. Ziva was in for it now.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the crime scene, the NCIS car parked beside the van in the middle of the backroad where the accident occurred. Tony stepped out of the van he was driving and was met by a state trooper.

"Special Agent Gibbs?" the man asked. Tony rose his brow in amusement.

"No, he's the older gentleman with the smile on his face." he countered pointing towards Gibbs who had already made his way under the tape, with Ziva on his heels. Claire grinned at him and nudged him in the ribs for his sarcasm. Gibbs and Ziva stopped at the broken fence and looked down the very steep slope with the busted car at the base of it.

"Agent Gibbs, the cars in a crevice at the bottom; victims dead inside." The state trooper informed, walking over towards the agents.

"Lt. Hampton, Virginia State police. The last few yards are pretty steep. One of the EMTs managed to make it all the way down. The fire department is bringing in special equipment to extricate the body." The trooper explained to the group, as Tony, Claire and McGee had now joined, carrying their equipment.

"It's gonna take a while." He tacked on.

"McGee, sketch. Get close enough without breaking your neck." Gibbs ordered, his tone softening at the end.

"DiNozzo photos." Gibbs added on next. Tony stood there staring at him, as if waiting for more instructions.

"Is there a problem?" Gibbs asked.

"You didn't say anything about my neck." Tony pouted, looking put out. Gibbs just stared at him as if to say 'so?'.

"I'll be careful." Tony muttered before walking down after McGee.

"What about me?" Ziva asked, stepping up next to Gibbs who ignored her and turned to the trooper. She scoffed and looked to Claire for assistance. However, Claire just shook her head and raised her hands up, indicating at she was staying out of it. Ziva rolled her eyes, knowing that her tardiness this morning had set her up for a bad day.

"Who called it in?" Gibbs asked Lt. Hampton.

"His wife. She was on the phone with him when it happened." He answered, gesturing over to the blonde woman who was sitting in the police cruiser.

"Officer David, take her statement." Gibbs ordered. Ziva huffed and shook her head in annoyance.

"I should warn you, I'm not very good with women." She countered adamantly.

"Shocker." Claire muttered under her breath, causing Ziva to glare at her.

"Well that would make two things you're not very good at." Gibbs quipped as he walked away, Claire following after him.

"And the first?" Ziva shouted in question as he got farther away.

"Being on time." Gibbs explained. Ziva growled in annoyance and made her way over to the wife. She hesitantly walked over to the woman and introduced herself before starting with the questions.

...

Down the ravine, Tony had his cap on backwards so he could use the eyepiece of the camera to take pictures from where they stood on the small hill above the car crash.

"If it's any consolation Probie, I had my identity stolen once." Tony told Tim, who was sketching from beside him.

"Really?" McGee asked.

"They charged my visa for a vintage Barbie doll. Career girl outfit." Tony explained with a shrug, not really understanding why someone would buy that.

"Oh with the matching briefcase and pumps?" McGee asked intrigued. Tony paused and slowly turned to stare at him incredulously. McGee huffed sheepishly.

"Well I had a girlfriend who collected them once. We used to…..we'd line them up on the…." he trailed off nervously, realizing that this wasn't helping his case.

"I lost respect for you at the word….pumps…" Tony told him, staring at him in disbelief. Mcgee nodded in understanding and glanced away.

"Get back to work." Tony scolded.

"It's kinda hard to sketch from this distance." Tim muttered.

"Well don't get any closer, it gets steeper as it gets deeper. One false move and…" Tony was interrupted as they heard someone crashing though the growth behind them. The agents whipped around to see Jimmy flailing as he began losing his balance on the slope. Unfortunately, he had latched onto Claire's arm as she was supposed to be helping carry the supplies down for Ducky.

"Palmer! Palmer let go!" She shouted frantically as she could feel herself getting yanked forward, dropping the boxes as she did. The two of them started falling down the hill. Tony's eyes widened and he leapt around McGee to grab onto Claire who had fallen ahead of Jimmy. As she neared him he used her momentum to yank her sideways onto their little ledge, preventing her from serious injury. The force caused them both to be thrown harshly onto the ground.

"Thanks." Claire muttered, rolling onto her back to catch her breath. The three agents looked up to see a terrified Palmer still rolling and tumbling down the hill, down the steep ravine below, yelping frequently as he ran into the shrubbery.

"Good hustle Palmer." Tony shouted as they watching him go crashing down.

"I almost feel bad for letting him keep going." He muttered as an afterthought. Claire looked over at him.

"Don't be…..he was wearing loafers to a crime scene. Therefore he deserved this." She countered, glancing down at Jimmy down below them. Tony and McGee let out noises of understanding and agreement.

...

Up at the top Ziva was walking back over to Gibbs who was analyzing the original crash site on the road.

"No skid marks, he did not attempt to control the car before it went over." Gibbs remained silent.

"They were having an argument over a 6 month anniversary. I don't understand the half year thing, I thought…." Ziva rambled on but Gibbs cut her off.

"I don't understand anniversaries period." Gibbs quipped as he jotted down a couple notes in his notebook.

"Apparently neither did her husband. She was screaming at him on the phone when she heard a loud gunshot followed by the crash." Ziva explained. Gibbs stood up curiously.

"What else?" he asked.

"She could hear a low moan for a few minutes after impact." She answered.

...

Jimmy moaned pitifully as he sat between McGee and Tony on the ground closer the crash site where he had eventually stopped tumbling. Claire was resting just behind him.

"Yea I think it's sprained guys. Doctor Mallard is gonna be upset, isn't he?" Palmer asked, looking to McGee nervously.

"Uh I wouldn't worry about him but Gibbs….if he sees you wearing loafers at a crime scene." McGee trailed off with a grimace. Palmer looked to Tony who was staring down at the man's ankle on his other side.

"He'll pretty much kill you dead." Tony finished and reached down to poke at the swollen joint, causing Jimmy to yelp in pain.

"Is anybody going to join me down here?" they heard Ducky call from the bottom of the ravine. Tony, Claire, and McGee stood up to look down at him curiously.

"Uh Gibbs told us not to get too close." McGee explained.

"Yea you really shouldn't be down there Ducky, it's not safe." Claire warned.

"Exit wound in the petty officer's neck seems to indicate it went straight through. You need to look for a spent round that might be crucial for an investigation." Ducky called back. Tony turned to McGee with a raised eyebrow, indicating for him to go. McGee opened and shut his mouth a few times before clearing this throat and looking to Tony.

"Well as you've pointed out many times, I'm just a junior field agent." McGee countered Tony's look.

"All the more reason you need the experience Probie." Tony argued. McGee glanced back down the steep ravine and sucked on his teeth in thought and turned to Claire.

"No way. I think a gentleman should take this one." She countered immediately.

"But you have loads of field experience." Tony pointed out, more than willing to pass the buck to her.

"How about we follow in your footsteps as you lead the way?" McGee suggested, Tony nodded in agreement.

"Yes, ladies first." Tony quipped. Claire chuckled humorlessly.

"How about you two kiss my experience's buttocks." She threw back at them challengingly. The boys glared at her.

"Am I going to have to call Jethro on this one gentleman?" Ducky shouted up threateningly.

"No we're good." Tony replied.

"See, gentleman….ergo not me." Claire pointed out smugly. Tony sighed and looked down the slope warily.

"The chances of finding that bullet are…."

...

"….one in a million." Abby explained to Gibbs as they looked at the microscopic picture of the bullet up on the screen.

"Look at this Gibbs." She insisted as he leaned down to look into the microscope.

"The grooves that made that pattern, it's the exact same design as the cover of 'Plastic Death's' newest CD." She marveled excitedly. Gibbs didn't respond.

"Don't even tell me you don't know who plastic death is because its only like my favorite…"

"Not now Abby." Gibbs gently told her, looking up to squint at the picture on the plasma screen.

"But it could be a sign Gibbs! Like that tortilla skillet with the image of Jesus in it. They thought that was a miracle." She countered.

"It'll be a miracle if you still have a job unless you get back on topic." Gibbs warned her, making his way to the front of the room. Abby nodded and closed her eyes, breathing deeply.

"I see your point O great one. This is me getting back on topic." She murmured lowly before opening her eyes and getting back to work.

"9 millimeter, 120 grain. The window was rolled up when he was shot. There's traces in the rifling." Abby explained, pointing them out on the screen.

"Manufacturer?" Gibbs asked.

"Can't tell. I'm going to plug this into the FBI's database and see if a get a match but…."

"But it'll take a while." Gibbs guessed.

"See mind reading. There might be something supernatural going on here." Abby muttered thoughtfully, ignoring Gibb's blank look.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Up in the bullpen we were comparing notes to figure out what cause the crash using computer technology and the trajectory measurements from the crime scene.

"Preliminary trajectory shows that the bullet passes straight through the driver's side window. So, I recommend we search this area, looking for spent brass." McGee suggested, pulling up an image on the screen.

"You won't find it." Ziva countered.

"9 millimeters are slow and only accurate to about 30 meters. The shooter was in a moving car that pulled up alongside." She explained easily.

"Yea that is one possibility Ziva but you see we're investigators, which means we….investigate things. We don't assume." I argued, looking over at her demeaningly. Gibbs walked up and looked at the screen thoughtfully.

"Ziva's right." He told us easily. I glanced at him in shock while Ziva smirked.

"The wife said she heard the gunshot over the phone, the shooter had to be close." Gibbs explained. Ziva smiled deviously at me who returned it with my own sarcastic one. So she was right this one time. Lucky shot.

"Thank you." She told Gibbs, glancing back at me again tauntingly. _And the battle for Alpha female begins._

"What do we know about Petty Officer Smith?" Gibbs asked.

"We ran his military ID, he was a clerk at Norfolk. Had four months left before his discharge." McGee answered. He and Tony were watching the two of us curiously during our staring match.

"Tony, take the girls with you and check with his CO." Gibbs ordered, causing Tony to grumble under his breath, shooting a wary look at Ziva. Now she was jumping in on our partnership.

"When you're done with that then sweep the trajectory for brass." He added. Ziva looked at him in confusion.

"But why? You just said I was…"

"Because Claire's right too." Gibbs told her easily. Ziva pursed her lips looking over at me who was grinning triumphantly. She made a face at me before the three of us took off towards Smith's workplace.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the office building where the petty officer worked, the three agents were being escorted to his commanding officer's office.

"All of these people are in the military?" Ziva asked questioningly as they walked through the building.

"Yes, the uniforms are kind of a dead giveaway." Claire pointed out, shooting Tony an amused glance.

"Why aren't they armed." Ziva continued, glancing back at them questioningly.

"Because we're in America and the machine guns would just get in the way." Tony quipped sarcastically as the two entered the commanding officer's office. Ziva was not amused. The man hung up the phone before standing to greet the agents.

"What can I do for NCIS today?" he asked them politely.

"I'm sorry I have to tell you this sir but one of your men was killed this morning." Tony explained gently.

"Oh my god. Who?" he asked, looking between the three of them with wide eyes.

"Petty officer Jerry Smith." Ziva answered.

"Smith?" the commander asked, blinking in confusion.

"He was shot on route 249 on his way into work." Claire elaborated. The man stared at them questioningly.

"I think you have my man confused with someone else. That's Petty Officer Jerry Smith right over there." He explained, pointing to a smaller, gangly man that was working at his computer a few desks down from the room.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

I was the one privileged with interviewing 'Jerry Smith'. From the moment I approached the man it was painfully obvious that he wasn't used to a female's attention. The poor guy was flustered out of his mind.

"Why would anyone want to impersonate me?" he asked with a chuckle, fidgeting nervously, unable to make eye contact with me. I shrugged.

"Blackmail, espionage, terrorism, potential assassination…" I listed off.

"I..I'm just…I'm just a clerk ma'am." He countered.

"I mean I don't have security clearance or anything." Smith mumbled sheepishly.

"What kind of a clerk?" I asked politely, trying to help him open up a bit.

"Well I'm in a supply unit….im an SK2." He answered. _Might as well test to see if he or the other guy is the imposter._

"I'm new to NCIS petty officer, you're going to have to be more specific." I drawled with a smile, trying to see if he could answer me correctly. Smith stuttered for a moment, shying away from my curious gaze.

"Well….basically I'm just a…..storekeeper." he explained. I nodded but he continued.

"Um like today I filled requests for TP, liquid soap, toilet seat covers." He added with a chuckle, grinning up at me. I watching him in confusion as he started laughing before talking again.

"We call it getting 'a head'." He joked, laughing at the joke but I just stared at him silently. Noticing my lack of reaction he quickly dropped his smile and composed himself.

"…because in the navy, the head is another word for.."

"For the toilet…yes I know." I quickly assured him. _The joke was bad enough without the explanation._

"Perhaps this has something to do with your personal life?" I suggested, trying to get onto another topic before he could start rambling again. Smith grimaced.

"Well….probably not." He suggested sheepishly. I looked at him for clarification.

"I don't really have one." He explained in embarrassment.

"You don't say." I mused sarcastically but he didn't notice.

"I mean most nights I just go home and surf the web, or watch reality TV. I'm really into survivor…average Joe….and the amazing race is cool….I like extreme makeover but.." he rambled on listing his TV shows but I quickly cut him off. I could only take so much dork rambling. Tony and his classic movies were enough.

"I don't have much time to watch TV." I told him, hoping he would stop talking. He looked up at me in surprise.

"Really? Wow I don't think I've met anyone who didn't…" he chuckled and fidgeted nervously but again I had cut him off once more.

"What does your wife think about all this uh…nightly stimulation?" I inquired, trying to remain polite but he was making it hard.

"Well I don't have a wife, no girlfriend either." He pointed out with a shrug _. Again…..shocking….._

"I just don't seem to do very well in that department." Smith huffed out sheepishly, glancing up at me.

"It's just me and Max." he explained with a smile. My brows rose in curiosity.

"Max is your boyfriend?" I assumed.

"No…no! Gee I'm like as straight as they come." He hastily assured, watching me intently.

"Max is a marmoset." He corrected. I nodded my head in understanding.

"A monkey?" I asked.

"A pet ma'am. Nothing more." He added. _Oh gross._

"That's um…..reassuring" I nodded, giving him a strained smile. As I looked down to jot a few more notes down he just kept talking.

"A buddy of mine was shipping out, he was in a bit of a bind. I said no way but….I got one look at the little guy …" he rambled again but stopped at my expression.

"He's just so damn cute ma'am." He giggled. I smiled at him in amusement and laughed. _Ok, maybe he's just adorkable._

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In the closed office Tony and Ziva were interviewing the commanding officer.

"Petty Officer Smith was transferred from Pearl about the same time I was Agent DiNozzo." He explained.

"Did you serve with him there?" Ziva asked.

"No, different unit. We never crossed paths until this command" He countered.

"What kind of sailor is he?" Tony continued.

"Officially he's never missed a day's work." Tony looked up at him and smiled wryly.

"I'm more interested in unofficially, commander." He explained.

"Well it's not in my nature to be disparaging." The man countered but the agents continued to stare at him.

"Well I got a body back at NCIS that needs a name so by all means…..disparage away." Tony insisted, looking at the man sharply. The commander sighed.

"I guess you could say that Smith is not the brightest sailor that I've ever commanded." He reluctantly admitted. Tony blinked in confusion, silently asking him to elaborate.

"Well now that I say it out loud, I guess that's why someone found it so easy to steal his identity." The man mused. Tony turned to look out the window at the scrawny man who was chatting up Claire with a grin. He was truly a dork. Tony paused for a moment and glared skeptically at the two. Claire was smiling down at him in amusement while the man was obviously attempting to flirt with her. He grunted in displeasure before turning back around.

"Can you think of any reason why someone would want to impersonate him?" Tony asked, skeptical that there was one.

"God no agent DiNozzo….god no." the commander admitted in the same tone of disbelief.

"Well thank you for your time Sir, give us a call if you think of anything else." Tony stood, politely shaking the commander's hand before leading Ziva out of the room. They passed by Claire and Tony leaned in, setting a hand on her back.

"Time to head out agent Conners." He politely intruded on their conversation. Claire glanced at him curiously, taking note of his hand placement. Inwardly she was pleased that he was being possessive but it was amusing to say the least that he might be threatened by this slip of a guy before her.

"Give me a call if you think of anything else Petty officer." Claire told the man, handing him her card. Smith took it with a grin and nodded enthusiastically. She walked off with Ziva, leaving Tony behind.

"Hey can I ask you a question?" Smith hastily grabbed Tony's arm before he could follow. Tony rose a brow at him.

"You think she'd be open to a date with me?" he shyly inquired, looking up at the man hopefully. Tony bristled slightly. Didn't he take notice of what had just happened? He smiled tightly at him and patted him on the shoulder a bit roughly.

"Sorry bud but she's taken." He lied before walking out of the office space, following after his partners.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at NCIS McGee hung up the phone irritably. I watched as he glared at the object before slamming it back down a few more times.

"More porno?" Tony asked him, watching him with intrigue at his reaction. McGee slowly looked over at him with a glare. Tony tilted his head in question.

"What do we have McGee?" Gibbs asked, sitting down at his desk. McGee stared down at his desk and sighed in despair.

"3 more charges since yesterday." He spat out. Gibbs turned to look at him questioningly and McGee froze, realizing his slip up.

"Sorry, sorry boss." He apologized and sat up to give him the information Gibbs was asking about.

"Um cellphone records are downloading now." He amended.

"Ok looks like Petty Officer Smith….Petty Officer Smith in the car, not the one on base." McGee elaborated. I rolled my eyes upward, he was making this so complicated.

"Yea I got that." Gibbs quipped in annoyance.

"Well he was definitely talking to Mrs. Smith. If that's her real name." McGee muttered under his breath. Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"McGee." He scolded.

"Um, he was talking to her, from their home on his cell just before she called in the accident." He explained, in a unnecessarily confusing way.

"I have an address here, to an apartment in Newport News. The lease is in the wife's name." Tim informed Gibbs, walking up to hand him the address on the sticky note.

"Ziva, you're with me." Gibbs ordered, getting out of his chair and heading out. Ziva raised her hand in protest as she was on the phone. _That was a big no-no._

"Possible appointment for reconnaissance of the naval base I will be…" she tried but Gibbs pushed down on her receiver button to cut off the call.

"That means you go with him." I explained to her warningly. Ziva watched Gibbs storm off in shock but she didn't move.

"Now." McGee added. Ziva hung up the phone and rushed to grab her gear.

"Go quick before the elevator doors close." Tony suggested, watching the elevator closely. Ziva nodded and sprinted in that direction. She slid her hand between the doors just as they were about to close. She coolly stepped in to stand by Gibbs as the elevator descended.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

As we soon learned the dead man was the real Jerry Smith, and was supposed to be stationed at the supply office. His wife had no idea about any of this or the man posing as her husband. And Jerry Smith died from the impact of the car crash as the shot wasn't very accurate at all. So basically we were back at square one with more questions than answers.

We were all gathered around the big screen by Gibb's desk to sort out who was who and where to go from there.

"Ok the officer down in autopsy that we thought was impersonating Jerry Smith is actually the real Jerry smith and the Jerry Smith that Claire talked to in Norfolk is the fake 'Jerry smith'. It's confusing." McGee explained, pulling up pictures of both men.

"Kinda like the pillow with the poisons on the vessel with the pestle." Tony rattled off quickly, looking at Gibbs in amusement. I smiled in amusement while the rest turned to stare at him curiously.

"Chalice from the palace has the brew that is true?" I rattled off in return, Gibb's lip quirking up in amusement. Tony turned to me with an approving grin.

"Court Jester, Danny Kay. Come on guys it's a classic!" Tony told us excitedly, looking for any sign of recognition to his movie reference other than me of course. When he faced Gibbs again he was greeted with a flick on his forehead.

"Thank you, boss." He muttered sheepishly. I smirked in amusement to which Tony shoved me aside playfully.

"Who is he McGee?" Gibbs asked, gesturing to the faker and conveniently ignoring our childish antics.

"John Kirby, we lifted his prints from his desk in Norfolk." McGee explained.

"His empty desk, he didn't report for duty today." I added.

"He and Smith had overlapping tours in '02. Kirby was discharged in '03." McGee read off.

"Honorably." Tony tacked on.

"Boss, these guys must have had this planned from the first day of Smith's new assignment." McGee informed adamantly. _Well no duh._

"You think McGee?" Gibbs asked sarcastically.

"Get me Kirby's"

"Address." McGee finished for him, fishing the paper out of his pocket.

"He has a little place in little creek, been there about a year." He listed off, reaching back to grab another sheet of paper.

"And the warrant." He finished, handing Gibbs the document.

"Someone's on the ball today, nicely done McGee." I praised. McGee shot me a grin. I had noticed however that Tony glared at the man when he thought I couldn't see him. Sometimes he's such a big baby.

"DiNozzo, David, Conners, take a ride." Gibbs instructed, handing the papers to Tony.

"Got it." Tony muttered, shooting Ziva a look, again not to pleased to have her butting in on our solo time.

"Get a bolo out on Kirby with the FBI, local and state.."

"Already done it boss." McGee cut him off.

"Bolo?" Ziva asked in confusion.

"Be ON the LookOut." Tony informed her as explanation, grabbing his gun and bag.

"Good job McGee. Go on catch up to them." Gibbs gestured towards the three of us who were making our way out. McGee smiled and quickly grabbed his gear before joining us at the elevator.

"Good job McGee." Tony mocked in a whinny voice, punching the elevator button.

"Grow up." I smacked him on the back of his head. Tony turned to glare at me and reached over to flick me on the forehead but I ducked and smacked his hand away.

"Are they always this juvenile?" Ziva asked McGee, watching the two of us swat at one another.

"Only on days of the week ending with the word 'day'." McGee informed casually, as this was nothing new to him.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The four of them were making their way across the NCIS vehicle lot.

"I'll drive Tony." Ziva informed but was quickly shot down.

"No, no, no, no I'm not gonna make that mistake again." Tony corrected, shooting Claire a grimace.

"Did you really think my driving was that terrible?" Ziva asked him curiously. The three other agents looked at her dryly.

"Aside from the high speed and near misses?" Claire asked sarcastically. Ziva shrugged off as no big deal.

"It's an acquired taste. Like regurgitated lunch." Tony told her with a grimace.

"That's disgusting DiNozzo." McGee groaned, shooting him an unimpressed look.

"Tell me about it Probie, that chili cheese dog was hard to chew the second time around." Tony quipped. Claire gagged and shot him a look.

"Tony that's gross." She scolded.

"Maybe we should give her another chance. It's not like she killed or maimed anyone." McGee suggested, looked over at the other two acting as if Ziva wasn't there.

"Maybe we should concentrate on why John Kirby switched places with seaman Smith at Norfolk and leave the death wish for another day." Tony countered pointedly.

"He could very well be an assassin." Ziva suggested.

"He works at a supply post. Who's he gonna assassinate?" Claire asked her curiously.

"Mr. clean?" Tony added sarcastically.

"Well all the better not to draw attention to himself." Ziva explained.

"Ziva's right. Big base a lot of targets." McGee agreed thoughtfully.

"Oh I don't know. I mean look at the guy he's such a…"

"Pimp." Ziva supplied. The three looked at her.

"Wimp" they corrected at the same time. Ziva waved her hand dismissively at her mistake.

"Very much in line with other assassins." Ziva continued as they reached a car.

"I think she's right Tony. Look at lee Harvey Oswald." McGee agreed. Tony shrugged as they all hopped into the car, Tony in the driver's seat. Claire passenger with McGee and Ziva in the back.

"That's original McGee, is there any part of your brain that is grown?" Tony teased, still sore about getting praise from both Gibbs and Claire back in the office.

"At least I have one Tony." McGee quipped with an eye roll. Claire snickered while Tony sat still and glared ahead.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively.

"Nothing." McGee muttered. Tony didn't move.

"We're not going anywhere." he stubbornly refused. McGee sighed in annoyance.

"Until I apologize?" he asked dryly.

"No, not until you apologize." Tony muttered and roughly pushed open the door. He looked around at all the identical vehicles around them.

"We're in the wrong damn car." He explained in exasperation. Claire stepped out of the car and looked over at him.

"How did you manage to pick out the wrong car?" she asked like he was an idiot. Tony shot a glare at her.

"You weren't any help either. Why didn't you say something!" he countered.

"Because they all look the same! You and Gibbs are the ones who typically drive it so how would I know the difference?" she argued. The two of them slammed the car doors and continued bickering as they made their way across and down the lot, heading towards the correct car this time. Ziva and McGee trailed behind, watching them in amusement.

"I see what you mean." Ziva muttered, causing McGee to chuckle.


	38. Chapter 38

**[** Switch 2] 

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in the evidence garage Gibbs was walking around the flipped car with Abby who was in her red jumpsuit.

"What did you find Abbs?" he asked.

"Well after the car crashed through the railing it went end over end for about 100 feet. before finally slamming to a stop up against a boulder, which crushed the driver's side door into his body. Therefore, a lot of blood." Abby explained, taking pictures of the car as she went.

"I also found these in the trunk. Three identical sets of Hawaiian shirts and khaki pants." She added, walking over to pick up the clothing on the table.

"Correction, did you find anything useful?" Gibbs asked walking over towards her.

"Maybe, but it's probably nothing." She sighed. Gibbs gave her a look.

"Do not make me say a magic word now Abbs." He warned her.

"Of course not…..but it is a cool idea." she mused before darting over towards the car.

"It's in the blood patterns." She started to explain, leaning into the car to point it out to him.

"The residual splatter from where the bullet struck is there. Exit wound splatter is there. Dropping slightly from the angle of the impact." She elaborated.

"Normal when they pass through flesh." Gibbs added. Abby smiled.

"Very good Gibbs." She praised.

"But that would be the case of a senior league special agent, whose worked hundreds of crime scene investigations, across his historic career." She rattled off dramatically, Gibbs staring at her dryly.

"I'd hate to start smacking you like I do DiNozzo." Gibbs loosely threatened.

"You wouldn't?" Abby insisted but Gibbs gave her a look.

"You would?" she asked innocently.

"It won't be on the head." Gibbs told her jokingly. Abby glared and snapped a photo of him close up to blind him in teasing. Gibbs blinked away the dots in his vision as she continued with her explanation.

"The blood here is darker…." She pointed to the smudges on the shattered windshield.

"And the pattern is random."

"Skip to the 'probably nothing' part will ya?" Gibbs asked, just wanting the simple version.

"See the trail of splattering is wider than you'd expect. And the blood is smeared somewhere in here. It's like something brushed up against it." She told him with a frown, gesturing to the front windshield.

"Like what?" Gibbs asked, looking at it over her shoulder.

"…I have absolutely no idea." she huffed. Gibbs gave her a side glance.

"That would be the 'probably nothing' part." She elaborated.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

At Kirby's house the we had helped ourselves in, thanks to the warrant, and made out way into his bedroom to start our search. At one side of the room, Tony opened the small closet and let out a huff of amazement as it was completely filled with various Hawaiian shirts. I rolled my eyes fondly. _He was going to have a field day._

"Oh, I love Hawaiian shirts." He mused while shuffling through them excitedly.

"I'm not surprised." Ziva muttered.

"It's a cultural experience you wouldn't appreciate. Isn't that right Claire?" Tony countered while still looking over all of them.

"I wouldn't be caught dead in one." I told him. McGee smirked at me from where he was working on Kirby's laptop.

"You really let me down Claire. I'll be sure to buy you one so you can learn the charms of it." Tony insisted dramatically.

"If you do that then we will no longer be friends." I threatened. Tony smiled cheekily at me and turned back to the closet. Suddenly he let out a large gasp of awe and pulled out a red shirt with large palm leaves and orange flowers on it.

"It can't be.." he whispered, looking at the shirt as if it was gold.

"Do you realize what we have here?" Tony asked, holding up the shirt in reverence.

"Another ugly shirt?" Ziva guessed, glancing at it in disinterest. Tony looked at her in shock before turning to McGee who frowned in confusion.

"This is an authentic magnum PI Jungle Bird design. 100% cotton, bamboo buttons, the made in Hawaii label." He practically squealed in excitement as he examined it, the grin threatening to break his face in half. He looked around at the disinterested expressions and my thoroughly amused one.

"Come on, this is the holy grail of aloha garments." Tony muttered.

"That's great." McGee commented, flashing a bored grin before getting back to work.

"For eight seasons magnum wore this shirt. Putting up with Higgins and those stupid dogs." He beamed as he imitated the man in a loud and unintelligible voice, looking up and beaming like a kid on Christmas only to be met with bored expressions as McGee continued working, me dissatisfied with his Tom Selleck expression, and Ziva rifling through the nightstand.

"It's a TV show that was big in the eighties." Tony sputtered as explanation, hoping the other two would catch on.

"I know who Tom Selleck is Tony. The hot, sexy American man of adventure." Ziva informed him with a smirk. I hummed in agreement, just thinking about it. Tony paused and fidgeted.

"He's not that great….." Tony muttered pitifully, pursing his lips at our dreamy expressions. I quirked an eyebrow.

"Well he….he was good sure…you take away the shirt, the mustang, the Detroit tigers hat and the Ferrari, the Outie, wine cellar, the estate, Britain TC and the helicopter…" I trailed off, shooting him a pointed look. Tony tried to dismiss it but frowned and sighed in disappointment by the end. Tom Selleck just won out.

"Well it looks like Kirby has not checked his email or even turned on his computer since yesterday." McGee relayed as Tony sadly put the shirt back.

"When he saw us at Norfolk he must have taken a kite." Ziva mused.

"Hike. The expression is taking a Hike." I corrected.

"I think she may have had it confused with 'go fly a kite'" McGee suggested.

"I speak five languages forgive me if I get confused…sometimes." Ziva grinned at us pointedly. I rolled my eyes. Ziva paused when she found something interesting in the drawer and walked over to show Tony.

"I found his bankbook…"

"Checkbook" Tony corrected as he took the item from her hands. Ziva glared.

"Whatever you call it." She growled.

"His deposits seem high." She explained, gritting her teeth. I looked over his shoulder at the book.

"Where you come from they may seem high but here in the good U.S. of A….."

"…..these are really really high." Our eyes widened as we saw the numbers in the book. Suddenly we heard rustling from farther in the house and we all reached to pull out their guns. Slowly the boys made their way towards the kitchen where the noises were coming from. As we went I suddenly remembered something Kirby had mentioned.

"I think it's the…" I tried but was quickly shushed by Tony and McGee. I rolled my eyes but followed their lead as they quickly and silently made their way through the house. Fine, if they weren't going to listen to me then they could find out themselves. Tony was the first one to make it into the kitchen. As he stepped in, the cabinet flew open and Tony nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise. He stared at the monkey incredulously as it threw a fit and bottles of spices at the agents.

"It's a…"

"It's a marmoset." I chuckled, watching Tony's baffled expression.

"Actually that's a Capuchin." McGee corrected, putting away his gun. Ziva and I looked over and saw that Tony was still staring at it with his gun drawn.

"I wouldn't advise shooting it. Americans and their pets, this would be a public relation's nightmare." Ziva quipped in amusement.

"You knew all about this, didn't you?" Tony muttered, ducking as the monkey continued to throw things at him. I laughed at his startled expression.

"I tried to tell you but you shushed me." I answered with a glare.

"Well next time try harder." Tony countered.

"His name is Max." I explained to them, remembering what Kirby had told me. McGee hummed in amusement.

"I read a Snapple cap that said the most popular name for a pet in the United States is Max." McGee imputed.

"That's funny, I thought it was Tim." Tony quipped as he continued staring at the monkey.

"No need to be rude Tony." I scolded, cautiously stepping forward to reach a hand out towards it. Max eagerly took my hand and climbed up to sit on my shoulder. Tony tensed and stared at it warily.

"It seems to like you." Ziva mused. I smiled and rubbed the monkey's forehead, causing it to nuzzle me in return. Tony smiled as he watched and reached over to pet it but Max freaked out. Tony jumped in alarm and took a few steps back.

"Good boy Max." I praised, holding up my hand for a high five which he returned. With this done I returned into the house to continue our search. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Tony grumbling bitterly about being outed for my affection by a monkey.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In her lab Abby was analyzing the emails from Kirby's laptop while McGee explained.

"Kirby was getting emails from an anonymous email account several times a week. Each one was a different time and location." He began. Ziva frowned and turned to look at them from in front of the plasma.

"The times are random throughout the day and the locations are businesses and residential addresses all throughout Norfolk." Abby added.

"How long have they been coming in?" Tony asked her.

"About 4 months." Abby told him.

"Around the same time Kirby was posing as Smith." I mused looking at McGee.

"You think Kirby was doing Smith's job while smith was doing Kirby's." he asked in thought.

"I've seen communications like this before." Ziva piped up.

"So have I." Gibbs added as he strolled into the lab and towards the big screen.

"Many intelligence agencies use a technique like this for arranging a drop-off." Ziva elaborated.

"I believe you refer to them as….goblins?" she asked turning back towards the team. Tony smirked in amusement.

"Spooks, the term is Spooks." He corrected.

"According to this there's a drop scheduled for this afternoon Gibbs." Abby informed.

"Where and when Abby?" he asked. Gambian Harbor, southeast corner at 1400." She told him.

"One of you is going to have to pose as Kirby." Gibbs informed them. They needed a slightly nerdy guy that fit the bill for both Smith and Kirby so naturally all eye turned towards McGee.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Up in the bullpen McGee was getting outfitted for the drop, complete with khaki's, a wire, and a Hawaiian shirt.

"Yea that really doesn't work for him." Tony muttered with a frown as he prowled around McGee who was getting his wire fixed by Ziva.

"Boss for once I think I gotta agree with Tony here, I don't think I'm the Hawaiian shirt type." McGee muttered as he glanced down in distaste.

"You're the closest agent we got in looks to Smith and Kirby McGee." I told him.

"Which won't matter if whoever he's meeting with knows their faces." Ziva countered. I pursed my lips at how she continued countering my ideas.

"No it won't, but if it doesn't we just might get something which is more than we have now." I told her pointedly.

"DiNozzo, you and Ziva will be here mobile on Grandview. As far down as you can while maintaining visual contact." Gibbs explained, pointing out the spots on the map.

"I'll be over here on Harbor." He pointed out.

"Claire you be on the street, ready to move in if necessary." Gibbs added, which I confirmed with a nod.

"McGee, we do not know what we have here so go with the flow. If it gets hinky call it." Gibbs added and pat McGee on the chest before walking off.

"Hinky? What's hinky." Ziva asked with a frown. Tony and I smirked in amusement.

"You know, when your gut is telling you something." Tony tried to explain. She frowned but nodded before turning back to do last minute touches on McGee.

"Oh I see. In my country, we refer to that as gas." She mused, slapping McGee gently on the cheek and walking off to her desk. The three of us looked at each other in confusion.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

On the street Gibbs watched McGee from his car just across the way.

"We got a visual DiNozzo?" he asked through the earwigs.

"Affirmative." He answered, watching from his own car on the other side of the street.

"Suck that gut in Probie" Tony teased, earning an eye roll from the man. Tony's binoculars then moved over towards Claire who was sitting at a café a block down the street, but still in eyesight. She had to shed her blazer to look more casual, leaving her in a low cut tank-top, much to Tony's delight. He adjusted the zoom on his binoculars to get a closer look. As if feeling the eyes on her Claire smirked into her drink.

"Eyes off my boobs Tony." She quipped, taking a casual sip. Her smiled widened as she heard a surprised cough from Tony's end, added to a scoff from Ziva who was with him.

"Noted." He muttered sheepishly. Mentally rolling his eyes at his partners, McGee scanned the street for anything odd.

"We've got a briefcase." He muttered, spotting a man walking towards him.

"I've got him." Gibbs acknowledged. A small man in a suit clutched a briefcase and eyed McGee who eyed him back.

"The logistics for the drop may only start here McGee. Look for any sign." Ziva warned.

"Like what?" McGee asked.

"A hand gesture, the way he holds his briefcase." She suggested while Tony continued watching with binoculars. McGee and the man continued to awkwardly eye one another as he held the briefcase closer to McGee. After a few more seconds the man dropped the case and walked off, glancing back at him as he did.

"Nothing boss." McGee muttered, glancing around his surroundings once more. They watched as a large yellow van parked right in front of McGee's spot.

"Lost the visual." Tony relayed.

"Same here." Gibbs added.

"I've got mine." Claire told them.

"DiNozzo, move up the block." He ordered to get another sight on McGee. The two cars began driving to new spots. As everyone was on the move McGee glanced over to spot a woman watching him intently as she approached him. He turned to face her as she approached.

"The park bench, across the street from the Baltimore museum of art. Put it underneath" She began, taking off her backpack and pulling something out of it. Tony watched intently from his new spot where he could only see her back.

"Girl with the pack." Claire informed as they heard the conversation. She stood up and took a couple steps forward just in case.

"Wait McGee for her to make the move." Gibbs instructed as McGee took the metal case that she handed him.

"Don't be late." She instructed.

"Right." McGee nodded, playing along. Just as she was about to leave she froze, spotting Kirby step out with a Hawaiian shirt behind McGee. McGee turned and the three of them all froze in alarm.

"Oh crap." Claire muttered, making quickening her pace. Instantly the woman tried to yank the case back from McGee.

"Kirby on my 9oclock boss." Tony informed as they watched Kirby make a break for it. He and Ziva were itching to jump out and do something.

"I've got him, you go get the girl. Go, go , go, go." Gibbs shouted. Tony bolted out of the car, telling Ziva to take the wheel before heading towards McGee and the girl. While they were busy Gibbs drove his car up the road and opened his car door to strike Kirby, sending him flailing into the street where Gibbs could grab him. As Tony and Claire approached, the woman tasered McGee, causing him to fall back with the case. He looked up to see Tony and Claire sprinting after her. They chased her along alleyways, coming to a stop when they caught the tail end of a moped fly out of the ally they just turned down.

"We lost her." Claire huffed just as Gibbs and Ziva jogged up towards them.

"More like she lost us." Ziva corrected, breathing deeply. Claire glowered at her.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Up in the bullpen Tony was playing Tetris on his phone while McGee and I did some filing. Ziva was working at her desk.

"It was called the transporter" Tony explained the movie to McGee. He stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth as he played in concentration. It was cute.

"Never seen it." McGee mused.

"Cool British guy delivers illegal stuff for a price. Obviously what Kirby was doing, and then what Smith was doing…..and then what you were doing Probie." Tony elaborated.

"…only badly." he added as an afterthought. McGee threw his head back in annoyance.

"Hey I got the case, didn't I?" Tim asked in defense.

"I think you're missing the point." Tony corrected distractedly as he continued to play.

"How could there possibly be a point?" McGee asked incredulously.

"I think what Tony means is that the transporter would have gotten the case, gotten the girl, and still held onto his cappuccino." I answered knowingly.

"Exactly! This is why you're my favorite!" Tony pointed towards me appreciatively, not taking his eyes off his game. Good thing too, as I turned my face away so they wouldn't see the blush spreading across my cheeks.

"Speaking of movies, you know what I was thinking about Probie?" Tony continued, not paying attention to any of us around him.

"Not interested Tony." McGee droned.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith, identity mystery." Tony continued dramatically.

"Then there's our Smith, identity mystery. And if it turns out the guy in charge of porn and tractor charges on your credit card is a Smith…."

"Uh Tony?" I imputed warningly but Tony brushed it off. McGee and I panicked momentarily before rushing off to our desks. Tony's on his own.

"Not now Claire, I'm almost done with this level." Tony dismissed and took a sip of his drink. At that moment Gibbs stalked up to his desk and slammed his mobile shut before snatching it out of his hands. Tony's eyes wandered sheepishly as he pulled the drink from his lips. He shot a look over at me asking why I didn't warn him. I threw my hands up as an answer. I had tried.

"Find out what's inside that case yet boss?" Tony asked. Gibbs didn't answer but pushed a few buttons on Tony's phone before tossing it into his cup. Tony winced as the force knocked some of the ice out. Ziva glanced at Tony before approaching Gibbs at his desk.

"Are we going to interrogate Kirby now?" she asked.

"Nope" Gibbs told her. Ziva sighed.

"That is a mistake the longer we wait the more time he has to…"

"I'm going to be interrogating Kirby." Gibbs explained looking up at her warningly.

"You and DiNozzo will be observing." He added before walking off. Ziva huffed and strolled over towards Tony, her hands on her hips.

"It takes a while for Gibbs to warm up to people, doesn't it?" she asked.

"You wanna know the secret of getting on his good side?" Tony asked, staring sadly into his phone filled up.

"Of course" she agreed. Tony picked up his wet phone gingerly.

"Me too." He mused with a tight grin. Ziva pursed her lips and followed him to interrogation.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In interrogation Gibbs was leaning up against the wall behind a very nervous Kirby.

"I didn't kill jerry." Kirby told Gibbs. Gibbs stared over at the mirror from his spot behind the man.

"I know we checked. You were on base when it happened." Gibbs told him calmly, looking back down at the paper in his hands. Kirby frowned in confusion.

"So…so can I go now?" he asked quietly. Gibbs stood up from where he was leaning and walked around him.

"Impersonating a petty officer….that's a felony. Lying during a federal investigation….felony. resisting arrest…..that's a misdemeanor. Not to mention what we have in that case downstairs." Gibbs listed off, Kirby becoming more frightened. Tony and Ziva watched from the observation room.

"You opened the case?" he asked nervously. Gibbs stared at him.

"Look I was only trying to help I swear to you." He whispered insistently.

"It wasn't even my idea." Kirby told him.

...

"I doubt this has anything to do with espionage Tony. He's far too stupid for this line of work." Ziva commented, watching man carefully.

...

"Why did you two switch places?" Gibbs asked.

"Because….Jerry…..he couldn't keep it in his damn pants." Kirby muttered staring down at the table. Gibbs tilted his head.

...

"Keep what in his pants?" Ziva asked, glancing back at Tony whose eyes widened at the question. He huffed out a laugh.

"You're kidding right?" he asked with a grin, but it dropped when he saw her serious expression.

"Come on." Tony muttered in disbelief. With her still confused he broke into bad beat-boxing while 'dancing' as if he was spanking someone.

"Dancing?" Ziva asked. Tony refrained from rolling his eyes and gave up.

"Yea, dancing." He muttered, going back to leaning on the monitor beside him. This was much more fun when it was just him and Claire. At least she understood.

...

"He had been fooling around with this officer's wife over at Pearl." Kirby muttered to Gibbs.

"And one night the officer came home early and caught him in the act. He got a good look at Jerry's face but he didn't recognize him." He continued, Gibbs listening intently. Kirby chuckled dryly.

"Jerry wasn't worried, he was shipping out next week. They'd never met before." He mumbled quietly. Gibbs nodded.

"That was the good news." Kirby added, playing with his hands.

"Until he got the bad news." Gibbs mused.

"The husband was going to be his CO at Norfolk." Kirby explained.

"Commander Morris." Gibbs added.

"Yes sir. Jerry only had 4 months left until an honorable discharge and Morris would have made sure that didn't happen." Kirby elaborated.

"Who else knew about it." Gibbs asked.

"Well no one. I mean that's why Jerry begged me to switch places with him." he fidgeted nervously.

"Except I couldn't…..leave my job." He added hesitantly.

"Delivering illegal goods." Gibbs asked.

"Wait, I mean I didn't know what was in the cases. I was strictly transportation." Kirby defended.

"Hey Kirby, they weren't exactly using FedEx." Gibbs pointed out in a 'duh' tone.

"It was stupid I know." Kirby nodded. Gibbs chuckled in agreement.

"But the money was good. Life since the navy has been kinda hard on me." He explained, glancing back down at the table.

"You never looked inside?" Gibbs asked.

"No, there were only two rules. Be on time and never look in the cases." He explained.

"Jerry I…..I guess he looked." Kirby muttered sadly. Gibbs nodded noncommittally.

"And they killed him for it." He added.

"I think I wanna get a lawyer now." Kirby mumbled, fidgeting once more.

"Oh yea, you're gonna need one." Gibbs agreed.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs and I were down in Abby's lab, listening to what she had found.

"Remember that smeared area that I said was probably nothing?" she asked.

"Well it probably might not be probably nothing." She quickly explained. I smiled at her unique way of saying things.

"I'm not saying a magic word Abbs." Gibbs told her. Abby frowned and pulled up a picture of the windshield.

"Ok, this is the windshield of the vehicle. See the smear marks, they connect together. Now step back and squint." Abby ordered, standing behind him and scrunching up her face accordingly. Gibbs and I turned around to stare at her incredulously.

"At what?" I asked, baffled at her suggestion. Abby sighed.

"Just do it. Like when you're trying to figure out the method of the bad 3D art at the fair?" she explained and scrunched her face up once more. Gibbs just stared wide eyed at her and then back at the screen. He looked to me for explanation but I just shrugged.

"This is important." Abby insisted and yanked him backwards.

"Try and see the bigger picture for once." She insisted and squinted once again. Gibbs stared at her for a moment and glanced around behind us.

"See it?" Abby asked. He stared at her wide eyed before sighing. Reluctantly we both squinted at the picture. Finally, the picture came into more of a focus.

"May be an 'M'." I told her.

"Yes Claire yes! Those smears were smeared on purpose." She explained, darting back to her computer.

"These are the photographs of Petty Officer Smith's body before they washed him." she told him, going over the blood patterns on him.

"He has blood on his right index finger. There were no lacerations on that hand." Abby explained.

"Petty officer Smith used his finger to write a message in his own blood?" Gibbs asked, staring at the picture in a new light.

"Sometimes people in the throes of death try to communicate. Like that guy in the LA metro rail crash, he wrote 'I love you' to his wife in his own blood." She elaborated.

"He lived." Gibbs pointed out.

"He did, but Petty Officer Smith is trying to tell us who killed him." Abby countered, pointing dramatically at the man on the screen. She walked back over to Gibbs pointedly.

"What does 'M' mean?" she asked.

...

Tony and Ziva went to interview commander Morris, which we assumed the M was from, but the man didn't even know it was Smith sleeping with his wife. He was at the office and had witnesses to prove it.

...

So back at the office the team was standing in front of the plasma screen, trying to figure out who did it. We stared at the bloody M in the picture.

"Surveillance camera at the main gate has Commander Morris coming on base an hour before Smith's time of death." Ziva told us with a sigh.

"Leeway on the time of death?" Gibbs asked.

"Ducky says 15 maybe 20 minutes." Tony answered.

"How much time to the crime scene." Gibbs asked.

"30 minutes, 15 if you were driving" I quipped.

"All sailors in his building verify he was in the supply unit until we showed up." Ziva added.

"Where in the supply unit?" Gibbs asked, staring hard at the letter.

"In the commander's private office. Behind closed doors." She answered.

"Well is there another exit? Could he have left unseen through a window?" Gibbs continued.

"The windows don't open boss, solid plate glass." Tony countered.

"Commander Morris couldn't have been at the crime scene." McGee told him.

"Yea I know that." Gibbs pointed out.

"He knows that McGee!" Tony reiterated.

"His murder has to be related to the delivery service." Ziva suggested.

"Which we know nothing about." Tony pointed out.

"Kirby claims he didn't even know who he was working for." McGee added.

"Maybe it's not about the delivery." I suggested thoughtfully.

"What else could it possibly be?" Ziva countered dryly. I shot her a look.

"Just because you don't understand the female mind in relationships doesn't mean I don't." I muttered before turning to look at the rest of the team.

"If Jerry Smith was cheating on his wife at Pearl, that couldn't have been the only time. After all what was he doing during the times when he didn't have to deliver? If someone was cheating on me I'd like to think that I would have found out about it." I pointed out thoughtfully.

"Oh….so pulling the wife card." Tony nodded in approval, making me smile. It was always one of his go to theories.

"But what about it being an 'M'?" McGee asked. I stared at the screen a moment longer. Maybe it wasn't an 'M'.

"Was Petty Officer Smith wearing his seatbelt when he crashed?" I asked thoughtfully and was answered by silence. They all looked at one another.

"Was. Petty Officer Smith. Wearing a seatbelt?!" Gibbs shouted again, causing the others to rush towards their desk, frantically looking up the information. After a moment of typing they all answered with a variation of 'no'.

"He was in an unnaturally contorted position." Gibbs added. McGee pulled up the photos.

"Yes, very unusual." McGee agreed. I bent down, trying to read the letter upside down. Tony was watching me curiously, tilting his head back and forth.

"Stop it." I muttered quietly, turning to glare at him. Tony actually blushed at being caught and flitted his eyes down at his desk.

"I can flip the image." McGee suggested, killing the small moment.

"Only if you want." he stuttered. I stood up and threw my arms up in annoyance. Duh that would be easier! McGee adjusted the picture so now it revealed the 'W' as Smith would have seen it.

"It's a 'W'" Ziva muttered.

"What was the wife's name again?" Tony asked.

"It's Wendy." She told him, shooting me a glance _. I was right._ Gibbs nodded in approval and gestured for me to follow after him.

"You cracked it, so you can come take her in." he explained. I grinned, dashing to grab my gun and followed after him. Tony put his hand up and I high fived it on my way out.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At Smith's house Gibbs and Claire were confronting the wife.

"When did you discover your husband was cheating on you Wendy?" Gibbs asked, glancing over her picture frames. The blonde woman looked at him in confusion.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She told them.

"It must have been a real shock. You were so much in love with him." Claire mused.

"Turns out the only decent man you ever met wasn't really decent at all was he?" Gibbs added.

"It's not true." She laughed dismissively.

"When he called out on his way to work, you weren't home were ya?" Gibbs asked.

"But I was, he called me at home." She explained.

"Phone records show that you forwarded your home phone to your cell." Claire corrected; Wendy turned to look at her in surprise.

"He had no idea you followed him Wendy." Gibbs added.

"He only worked a couple of days a week. I wonder what he did with all of that free time." Claire mused, knowingly. Mrs. Smith turned to stare at her silently before glancing bitterly at the wedding pictures.

"Did you know he cheated on me on our wedding day?" she asked Gibbs, glaring at nothing.

"Our wedding day." She reiterated sourly.

...

Back at the office, McGee and Tony were walking down the hallways. McGee hung up the phone with his finance agent.

"Well that takes care of them all. Visa, MasterCard, dinners. All cards cancelled, being reissued and it only took me 200 phone calls." McGee muttered, walking into the bullpen.

"You know what I find interesting." Tony quipped.

"That you actually have dinners." He mused.

"What's wrong with that?" McGee asked skeptically.

"Nothing….it's just that I've never met anyone who used diner's club who wasn't wearing depends." He pointed out with a grin. McGee stared at him.

"It's a very hip piece of plastic." He defended.

"Yes in 1927." Tony agreed sarcastically. McGee rolled his eyes and walked over towards his desk. Claire and Gibbs made their way into the office. Abby was waiting for Gibbs at his desk with a white evidence box.

"Good news and bad news Gibbs. Good news, I'm still cute. Bad news…..the bomb squad got a little trigger happy." Abby told him and pulled up a large plastic bag full of the charred and shattered remains from the container they got.

"They blew up the metal box?" Gibbs asked her. Abby nodded.

"Do you have any idea what's beyond smithereens?" Abby quipped.

"Not a clue"

"Me either but that's what we've got." Abby explained.

"There's not much I can do." She admitted with a shrug.

"Nope…..except put it back together." He suggested.

"Gibbs, it's in like a gillion pieces. It could take months." She told him seriously.

"It's the only link we have to that delivery service Abby." Ziva told her.

"Yea? Well you're not the one who has to put it back together officer David." Claire quipped icily in her defense. Abby glared at Ziva and without another word she whipped around towards the back elevator. Ziva sighed and got up to go after her.

"She doesn't like me, does she?" she muttered, passing Claire who shrugged.

"Ehhh." She grunted, knowing full well how Abby felt about the girl replacing Kate. Tony snickered at her response. Abby stepped into the elevator and just as it was about to close Ziva slid her hand in to prevent it. As it opened she walked in to stand next to Abby who continued staring forward.

"Are you going home?" Abby asked as the doors closed.

"I thought I might be able to help you with…..that." she gestured to the box of pieces Abby was holding. Abby briefly sneered.

"Do you have a degree in forensic science?" she asked.

"No…but I am very good at jigsaw puzzles." Ziva quipped with a grin. Abby smirked.

"We'll see." She countered. Abby smiled deviously to herself. This would be a good time to see what Ziva's intentions were and if they were going to mess up her perfect plan for Claire and Tony to get together.


	39. Chapter 39

[Under Covers: 1]

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony and I were going undercover…and this will possibly be the hardest thing I will ever have to do. Long story short we are playing a Canadian assassin couple, Sophie and Jean-Paul Rainer. We will be finding their mark and their employers as we take their places. Now I am no stranger to undercover and the acting that comes with it but married couples engage in…..activities…romantic activities. I'm just not sure if I can handle 'acting' like I'm in love with the man when I actually am. Tony wasn't all too pleased either when we found out it would be the two of us playing the parts. Yes, logically we would be the best two on the team due to our chemistry and undercover experience but still, this could pose some serious problems. Currently we are riding in one of the undercover cars towards the hotel. The car is dead silent and you can practically feel the tension….but why it's there on his part too is a mystery to me.

"So…how are we going to play this?" I asked, looking anywhere but over at Tony.

"Well I figured doting couple would play out nicely. I mean we are pretty comfortable around each other anyway and it has potential to make people uncomfortable and not notice us." He mused, wiping his hands on his dress pants nervously. I nodded stiffly. _That's what I was afraid of._

"I did have one thought though…." Tony added, glancing over at me before staring hard at the road in front of him.

"Yea?"

"Well…I mean…have you…..ever like entertained the idea of us…um.." Tony stuttered, which really threw me off. I stared at him curiously. _Where was he going with this?_

"Us what?" I asked curiously.

"….dating?" he sputtered, not daring to look at my expression. My eyes widened in alarm and I whipped my head back around to stare out the window, hoping to cool the heat in my cheeks. Taking my silence as a bad thing he quickly explained.

"I just meant that it was bound to cross our minds at some point as most friends of opposite genders probably would and I mean I've thought about it once or twice….." he quickly rambled out but the last part really caught my attention.

"Yea, I've thought about it." I cut in nervously. _Am thinking about it currently_. At my confession Tony glanced over at me and seemed to sag slightly in relief.

"Well I just thought that to make this as believable as possible we could treat this as like a trial run." He told me, biting his lip for a moment. I glanced down and bit my cheek in attempt to keep my smiling to a minimum.

"So what you're proposing is that for this undercover mission we are dating and do all that it entails in order to play a married couple?" I summed up, not able to hold back a grin. _Maybe he did like me like I do him. But then again it could just be curiosity if it could work since we are so close, but either way I at least want to know what it would be like_. Tony nodded in agreement, a smile slipping across his face.

"And that way no one at work would ever really know about it." Tony added sheepishly. I laughed, totally getting where he was coming from.

"No breaking rule 12. Technically anyway. It's just for the mission." I agreed, buying into this lie and loving it. Tony grinned.

"Right, just for the mission. And what happens undercover, stays undercover." He agreed, looking over at me in what seemed like pure joy. That threw me for a loop but my own happiness was taking over at the moment.

"Ok, deal." I agreed, biting my lip nervously again. Tony's eyes glanced down to my lips from the action before staring back at the road with a permanent smile on his face. _This could be good_. I felt a hand reach over and interlock with mine. Looking down at our conjoined hands I glanced over at him with a loving smile, this was nice. Just from a simple, everyday touch I could feel the heat making its way through me.

"Starting now." He whispered. _Let potentially the best few days of my life begin…_

 _..._

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Tony DiNozzo handed the bellhop a $10 tip before the man scurried out, shutting the suite door behind him. With his suit jacket slung over his shoulder he turned around to stare at the woman who was scoping out the room.

"So what do you think?" he asked. Claire popped out from behind the silk curtains leading to the patio and looked around the lounge area.

"Not bad I suppose." She muttered, shooting him a teasing grin. Tony chuckled.

" 'Not bad' she says as she comes in from the outdoor patio, past the fax machine and the minibar." He points out with a chuckle, watching her intently as she discards her wrap. He took in a breath to calm his nerves at the action.

"Complementary basket of fruit." Tony continues. Claire pops off a grape and smiles at him as she bites into it sensually. He clears his throat, trying to curb the growing arousal he could feel from watching her. Knowing that he had liberty to peruse her in any way he wanted was like lifting a burden off of his shoulders. He could do as he felt around her now and see how she react to it.

"Perfect way to spend a weekend." He adds, walking over and opening up a cabinet to reveal a flat screen television.

"Come on! Big screen TV." He cheers happily and picks up the guide. Claire smirks and walks over towards him.

"Oh, 200 channels, look at this HBO, ESPN, History channel." He lists off. Claire smiles up at him and shuts the doors, turning his attention towards her. His breath hitches as he stares down into her eyes, darkening with desire. He fiddles with the strap of her dress distractedly.

"…. Current or classic movies…" he trails off thoughtlessly as he follows her around towards the bed, Claire grinning up at him silently.

"I take it you're not interested in the premium channels." Tony muttered breathily as she takes his hand, leading him back even closer to the large king sized bed.

"There's only one thing I'm interested in right now." She murmurs, staring up at him intently. Tony's lip quirks up as he starts down at her lustily, his heart soaring at what would come next. They stare longingly into each other's eyes before he tilts his head down towards her. Softly he lowers his lips onto hers, relishing in the taste of her own lips which returned the kiss eagerly. After a moment, they both pull back, already breathless from the simple action. Tony stares down at her, falling even farther into the blue abysses of her eyes before pulling Claire into a loving embrace as he went in for another kiss. Claire's arms wrap around his shoulders, pulling him closer to her, wanting to take in all of him in the moment. She smiles into the kiss as they continue. As the kiss becomes more fervent Claire quickly unties her dress and lets it flutter down to the floor. Tony groans as his fingers trail over her bare skin, wanting to be as gentle as possible; going against his innermost instincts. Claire's breath hitches as the burning feeling of his hands caressing her body. Already feeling the increase of heat, she reaches up and begins unbuttoning his dress shirt, unable to get it off fast enough.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Heavy breathing fills the room as we come down from our very hot and heavy activities. My heart is still pounding heavily as I stare up at Tony who is smiling down at me goofily, unable to stop the grin. I giggle breathlessly and reach up, fumbling around for a remote on the nightstand. Unable to grasp it I tilt my head a bit, catching a glance of all the clothes strewn on the floor. Finally, I find the remote and turn on the radio, kicking it up a few notches to cover our voices from anyone listening.

"Do you think they bought it?" I ask breathlessly from underneath Tony.

"I did." Tony beams down at me giddily. I huff out a laugh at his expression. I shift around and grin up at him deviously, feeling something against my bare thigh.

"That's fairly obvious." I muse in a whisper, raising a brow at him. Tony scoffs.

"For your information that's my knee." He counters defensively. _I know a knee when I feel one…and that ain't it._

"Whatever, you can get off me now." I tell him. Tony frowns and looks down at his watch, not moving from his position on top of me. I try not to blush as he shifts against me, the blankets tightly wrapped around us which leaves no space between our bodies.

"It's only been 10 minutes. I have a reputation to protect." He smirks down at me.

"We're not even sure we're under surveillance yet tony." I counter.

"You can't be too careful when you're under cover. Let's give it another 40 minutes, just to be realistic." Tony informs cheekily as he begins to move once more, reaching up to caress the side of my face. I blush as a frankly brazen thought comes to me.

"Realistic huh?" I murmur thoughtfully. Tony hums in agreement, his eyes roaming over my face.

"In that case….." I quick flip us over, taking Tony by surprise.

"I prefer it on top." I explain, smiling down at his excited expression as I straddled him.

"I can live with that." He mutters happily, running a hand through my hair to pull it out of my face. Shifting once again I notice that his 'knee' has stiffened significantly once more. I gasp playfully and run my knee over it. Tony's eye bulge and he holds back a throaty groan, unintentionally sending waves of pleasure through me at the sound. It was sexy.

"What was that for?" he asks breathlessly, staring up at me in surprise.

"Because that was definitely not your knee." I informed, placing a chaste kiss on his lips. Tony chuckles, reaching up to pull me back down for another searing kiss.

"Care to use these next 40 minutes more…realistically?" I ask lowly, looking down at him longingly. His eyes widen in surprise and his eyes rake over my face curiously.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to do anything you don't want. We can keep pretending." He whispers urgently, nothing but sincerity in his eyes. I smiled down at him, my heart warming that even in our compromising position he still thinks about me and my feelings. I lean down to nuzzle him, pressing kisses on the corner of his mouth, causing him to hum contentedly.

"Well if we only have a few days, I want to get in as much as I can." I told him seriously. Tony beams up at me before flipping us back over, sending me into a fit of giggles. This was pure bliss.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at NCIS Ducky unzipped one of the body bags to reveal a dark-haired woman, bloodied from a traumatic car crash.

"Oh she's very beautiful Jethro." Ducky comments, looking over at his friend beside him.

"Her name is Sophie Rainer. She's murdered over 20 people duck." Gibbs counters dryly.

"And her friend?" Ducky gestures to the body bag next on the next table.

"Her husband. Jean-Paul Rainer. Both Canadian citizens and both contract assassins." Gibbs explains. Ducky peered down at the woman carefully.

"She's suffered extensive injuries. It may take quite a while to determine the actual cause of death." Ducky told him.

"She was in a car accident two days ago outside of Quatre National Airport. Here's the accident report." Gibbs told him, handing him the stack of papers.

"I'm assuming this is urgent. I've waited 3 months to see Giselle." Ducky scolded, gesturing to the suit he was currently donning.

"Yea I apologize about the girlfriend Duck but we need you here."

"Giselle is a ballet." A female voice corrected from behind them. The two men turned to see Jenny Shepherd making her way towards them.

"You really should get out of your basement more Jethro." She quipped. Gibbs stared at her but didn't respond.

"We need to know everything we can about these two Ducky." She explained to the M.E.

"Why is NCIS investigating this?" Ducky asked, looking between the two.

"Marine CID found two fake US passports and two first class tickets for Washington DC in their luggage." She explained.

"They have reservations at the Bartley through November 10th." Gibbs added, Ducky staring at them questioningly.

"Marine Corp. birthday." Ducky realized.

"They're holding a ball there. Hosted by the Commandant of the Marine Corp." Gibbs elaborated.

"The top military leaders, congressmen, and agency directors will be there. Including me." Director Shepherd added.

"Tony and Claire have taken their room reservations at the Bartley." Gibbs gestured to the two on the tables.

"They're there now, pretending to be these two. They're working blind Duck." Gibbs added seriously.

"We're counting on you fill them in on some of the more…..personal details of our couple." Jenny explained. Ducky shook his head.

"Though it is common knowledge that I talk to my patents, unfortunately to date none of them have answered me back." Ducky told them.

"Listen harder." Gibbs suggested. He nodded to Ducky before heading out of autopsy, Jenny Shepherd following behind.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

Currently I was lounging on my back, hands resting behind my head while Claire had her head on my shoulder, running her fingers through my chest hair soothingly. I sighed deeply, in utter bliss and thoroughly exhausted. This mission is the best thing that has ever happened to me. Claire hasn't shied away from any of my advances and even instigated some activities of her own. I buried my face into her hair, inhaling her intoxicating scent. Pulling her closer to me I laid my head atop of hers, thinking of how right this all felt.

"Sweetheart, you know what I could really use right now?" I mused.

"Some deodorant?" she quipped tiredly. I shot her a short glare as she giggled. The noise brought a smiled to my face.

"I was thinking more along the lines of back massage." I corrected, watching her out of the corner of my eye. She propped herself up on her elbow to stare at me thoughtfully.

"Good idea. Why don't you roll over like a good boy." She cooed teasingly, getting my heart racing once more. I grinned at her and eagerly settled over onto my stomach while she straddled my back, her robe draping over her shoulders. I was so tempted to tilt my head back to stare at what the robe wasn't covering. All thoughts were sent out of my mind as she gently began working on my shoulders. I let out an involuntary moan in pleasure. _Oh…..my…..god…._

"Oh….wow….and to think that my mother thought I was too good for you." I quipped, letting out another groan of pleasure. She pressed roughly into a knot on my back, causing me to whimper in pain. She giggled lowly at my discomfort and kissed my back as an apology. I chuckled again and turned my head to look at her cheekily. Claire shook her head at me and leaned back down for a long kiss before letting her goddess like hands get back to my massage.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In another room, an infrared camera was trained on the two, along with an agent watching their every move from a camera pointed at their room. The audio was on, picking up the whimpering from Tony as Claire continued to keep up her massage, before it changed into giggles and groaning. The door opened and a man stepped into the dark room.

"What did I miss?" he asked the woman with the headphones, listening to the bugs in the room. She sighed.

"They had sex." She droned.

"They had any contact with anyone yet?" he asked, picking up a sniper rifle.

"Just each other….multiple times." She muttered disdainfully as he set the scope on the window of the room.

"Was it good for you?" he asked casually. She glared at him and scoffed. Suddenly a knock on the door got her attention.

"Wait someone's knocking at their door." She informed.

...

A knock at the door, brought the Claire and Tony out of their momentary ignorance.

"Who is it?" Claire asked.

"Room service." A familiar voice answered. Tony and Claire locked wide eyes before leaping up to pull on their robes fully. Once they were covered she slowly opened up the door to let McGee in with his tray and employee costume.

"Compliments of the hotel management." He muttered, wheeling in the cart, slipping her a small black case. Claire quickly made her way over to shut the drapes over the windows while Tony walked over to McGee, wearing a fluffy white bathrobe. McGee rose a brow, staring at Claire's long legs that peaked out from underneath her short silken robe. Tony growled but didn't slap him as he desperately wanted to in case they were being watched. Hearing him, McGee cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Gibbs wants me to sweep the room for bugs, place some of our own and he also wants to talk to you." McGee muttered lowly under his breath, handing a case with earbuds to Tony. He nodded and began placing in the devices.

"You can put those over here please." Claire instructed politely to keep up the charade.

"Very good ma'am." McGee nodded, carefully picking up the flowers containing their own camera. He placed it so they could see the room and the agents in it for Gibbs and Director Shepherd to watch from MTAC.

"Garcon we would like some extra bath towels." Claire told McGee, glancing around for any cameras.

"Of course." He nodded and walked across the electronic devices, running his scanner to look for any bugs.

"I'll just make sure everything's in order." He continued, sweeping all the surfaces for any bugs. He paused when he came to the bed end of the room and stared at the sheets that were barely on the bed. If he didn't know any better he would have thought that they…..

"Would you like me to have the maid make up the bed for you?" McGee asked, looking at them incredulously. Tony and Claire just stared back innocently, Tony swinging his robe tie around.

"Oh that won't be necessary." Tony quipped, staring over at Claire who flitted her eyes away sheepishly.

"Oh, can you check the minibar. We would like it stocked with red bull." Claire informed McGee, desperate to have the attention off of them.

"Red bull? That can keep you up all night ma'am." McGee answered, eyeing them curiously.

"Exactly." She mused, glancing over at Tony impishly. Tony chuckled and pulled her towards him, casually draping an arm around her waist. McGee ran the scanner over the desk and saw the lights flashing, indicating a listening device. He gestured for them to be silent, pointing down to the area, Tony and Claire nodded.

"Please accept this assortment of cheeses, compliments of the hotel." McGee informed before placing the heavy lid on top of the device disguised as a pen.

"If you whisper it should be okay." McGee informed them as Tony worked to pop open the bottle of champagne they had been brought.

...

" ** _Comfortable DiNozzo?"_** Gibbs asked from MTAC.

"Well, yea working on it." Tony answered, struggling with the bottle

"Why do you ask?" he continued distractedly.

"We're looking at you Agent DiNozzo…all of you." Director Shepherd informed, in amusement. Tony frowned before glancing down to see that his robe had opened up and he was bearing all in front of his bosses. His eyes widened and the cork popped out loudly, making McGee jump in surprise. Claire covered her grin with her hand, glancing away from Tony who sheepishly pulled his robe back to where it should have been.

"Uh sorry about that." He muttered to everyone.

"DiNozzo what the hell are you doing? You're married assassins, you're not visiting the playboy mansion." Gibbs scolded, eyeing the room and how his agents were dressed.

"It was kinda Claire's idea boss." Tony muttered, grinning nervously. A pillow collided with the back of his head, causing him to wince and smile sheepishly back at Claire. They all turned around when the room phone went off.

"Incoming call." Tony informed.

"Have Claire answer it." Jenny instructed, seeing that Claire didn't have her earbuds in. Tony tilted his head and grinned over at her.

"Sweet cheeks, do you think you could go answer the phone for us while I pour us some champagne." Tony asked sweetly. Claire glanced at him curiously for a moment before making her way over with an eye roll. Leave it to Tony to ham it up when others were watching.

"Thanks honey." Tony chirped, causing Claire to bit her lip in attempt to hide her smile at the pet name.

"Yes?" Claire answered.

"There's a cellphone in the bible next to your bed." The voice instructed. She reached into the nightstand, opening up the bible to reveal the phone inside the cutout.

"Got it." She answered, holding up the phone to show all those in the room and the camera.

"Keep it with you at all times. You have dinner reservations at the hotel dining room at 9 o'clock. Don't be late." The voice informed before handing up.

"The concierge. We were able to get into the dining room after all." Claire informed Tony with a grin.

"My love." She added with a whisper so only he could hear it. He smiled down at her lovingly, passing her a flute of champagne.

"It looks like I'm getting dressed up for you tonight." She mused as they clinked glasses. Tony hummed in contentment and shot a wink over at McGee who rolled his eyes.

"That wasn't the concierge, that was their contact." Gibbs realized.

...

Abby stepped off of the elevator sporting bowling shoes, a big blue skirt with a poodle to compliment her pink blouse and hair tie.

"Don't look at me that way Gibbs. It was oldies night when I got your 911." She scolded, defending her retro style outfit.

"I was two frames away from a perfect score. And just for the record, the outfits were not my idea." she told him as they both waked into autopsy.

"I like it." Gibbs shrugged.

"It is kinda cute huh?" Abby mused, looking down at her getup.

"No sign of Mr. Palmer is suppose?" Ducky asked, busy weighing different organs.

"Not since this afternoon Ducky." She told him.

"Abs these are their personal effects. Get yourself wired so you can feed whatever you find directly to DiNozzo and Conners." He instructed, pointing her to the box.

"Looking for anything in particular?" she asked, spinning her skirt around.

"Yea anything that'll help those two act like them." Gibbs retorted, pointing to the dead couple.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Down in the dining room Tony and I were decked in our evening ware. Tony had on the spy glasses so maybe we could find a target that the real Rainers were sent to take out through a facial recognition software that Abby was running.

 **"Solid on the visuals Tony."** Gibbs instructed as the watched the camera feed from Tony's glasses

"There's a big crowd here tonight. See anyone you know my dear?" Tony asked casually, turning towards me.

"Not yet but the nights just getting started my little hairy butt." I mused, scanning over the crowd. Tony whipped his head around to frown at the pet name. I glanced over at his expression and laughed. He shook his head at me but eventually a grin came back onto his face.

 **"Duck anything interesting for our married couple?"** Gibbs asked the other man in the room.

 **"I have the breakdown from their stomach and intestines, if Mr. Rainer had lived I would have suggested a more fiber rich diet. His colon was almost impacted with fecal material."** Ducky relayed just as Tony was about to put another shrimp into his mouth. I giggled at his disgusted expression.

"Maybe it's too late to order a salad?" he mused. McGee was leaning against the bar, dressed as a waiter, watching the exits of the dining room.

"I believe our food is here now." I mused as our plates were placed on our table.

"Bon appetite, mon petit." I told him in French, deciding it was a good touch since we were supposed to be Canadian anyway. Tony continued tilting his head around go get pictures.

 **"McGee report."** Gibbs asked.

 **"I've got the restaurant covered from the entrance boss."** He relayed. I watched Tony in amusement as he eagerly dug into his steak.

"I'm a meat and potatoes kinda guy." He quipped giving me a playful glare.

 **"Tony the callouses on Mr. Rainer's hands suggest he was left handed."** Ducky informed, causing Tony to pause. This was going to be interesting.

 **"Switch hands DiNozzo."** Gibbs ordered. Tony looked over at me in trepidation, knowing that this was going to make things much harder. He reluctantly switched hands and I bit my lip to stifle a laugh as I watched him struggle to cut the meat any more. He jumped a little as it flipped onto his plate.

"You need any help with that dear?" I mused, sipping on my drink as I tried not to laugh.

"No, I've got it under control…..sweetie." he pursed his lips at me and went back to his steak. I chuckled again, thinking about how much I enjoyed spending time with him in a purposefully romantic setting. Yes we had alternative reason for being here but in this line of work you take what you can get.

"This is nice isn't it?" I mused, rubbing circles along the top of his hand.

"Yea." Tony agreed, smiling over at me. He grabbed my hand and smiled over at me, holding my gaze for a while. We sighed as there was some chatter on the other end of our earwigs.

"Just a quiet little dinner….just the six of us." He mused tensely. I shot him a sympathetic smile. It kinda kills the mood when you have your team watching and listening to everything you do. The cellphone rang from my clutch and I reached in to answer it. There was only one person who would be calling this phone.

"Our friend is calling." I casually noted, holding up the phone to show Tony and the camera.

"I'm glad you called, we were getting bored." I answered.

"Thought it would help to see your target in person tonight." The man explained. I glanced over at Tony curiously.

"He's here?" I asked. Tony began scanning the area even more, still listening to my conversation.

"You don't see him?" the man asked.

"Relax I've been flying for over 20 hours and the restaurants packed, we will." I droned dismissively.

"You didn't mention anything about being surrounded by US Marines." I continued, keeping him on the line for the cell search I knew Abby would be running right about now.

"It's too dangerous for the sum you're paying us." I told him.

"Accomplish this mission, we'll discuss more." He countered. I chuckled humorlessly.

"But you won't pay us more." I mused knowingly, hoping that I was playing the part well enough.

 **"He's calling from a payphone inside the restaurant**." Abby relayed into Gibb's mic.

" **DiNozzo, McGee."** Gibbs instructed, the two already bolting into action.

"Already moving." Tony informed under his breath before excusing himself, kissing me on the cheek as he passed. I blushed, enjoying the simple action.

"If you want more, I have to talk to my boss." The man told me, bringing me back to the problem at hand.

"You do that, we'll wait for you to…." I stopped when the line went dead.

"He hung up." I muttered under my breath.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

McGee and Tony quickly and quietly made their way towards the payphones in the lobby of the hotel. Seeing a body next to one of them McGee whipped out his gun.

"Don't move, federal agent." he instructed. Tony sighed and turned around to face him.

"It's me Probie, he's gone." Tony explained, pulling on some gloves.

...

Finding nothing at the payphone, Tony made his way back into the restaurant.

"Must have slipped out through the kitchen. We didn't even get a look." Tony murmured.

"You want us back in the squad room boss?" he asked, sitting back down at the table.

 **"No I want you and Claire back in your room, maintaining your cover."** Gibbs countered. Tony paused and cleared his throat nervously, his mind racing as he thought of what that could imply.

"All night?" he asked, sipping his martini.

"Do I stutter or something DiNozzo?" Gibbs mused sarcastically.

"Afraid I'll bite, Tony?" Claire asked teasingly, setting a hand high up on his thigh. Tony flinched at the electricity that come from it.

"The name is Jean-Paul, Sophie." He corrected, pulling on his tie nervously. Claire smiled coyly, seeing the effect she was having on him.

"Jean-Paul." She nodded in amusement. Tony grinned over at her.

"Do you bite?" he asked innocently. Claire grinned but didn't answer.

...

Gibbs turned to see Abby standing beside his desk, her hands on her hips.

"Hey Abbs what do you got?" he asked.

"I have a whoopee and I have a but." She told him.

"Abbs" he gave her a look.

"Whoopee, I have a photo of the man Tony and Claire are going to assassinate." She began.

"But?" Gibbs asked skeptically.

"But, I have no idea which of these 32 photos is him." she explained, flipping through all the photos of important people who were in the restaurant.

...

That night 'soothing sounds' on recording filled the room. Claire had claimed that the sounds would drown out any conversation that they might need to have during the night. Despite not getting another romp with Claire, he was perfectly content holding her as they slept. Or at least as she slept. Her head rested on his chest soundly, one leg draped over his, and her arm slung over his shoulder. Tony stared down at her incredulously as the sounds from the machine seemed to be growing louder and louder. How could anyone sleep through this?! He knew she was a deep sleeper but this was ridiculous.

"Oh my god." He muttered in despair.

"Please….shhhh." he shushed over her head and smiled when it went silent for a moment. With a grin he placed his head back on his pillow for a few moments of peace before it started up again.

"Come on you're killing me here?!" he groaned quietly trying to drown out the noise with his pillow. Seeing as this complaining wasn't going anywhere he looked back down at the girl in his arms.

"Claire?...Claire…" he whispered softly, getting no result. Time for a new tactic.

"Sophie." He called loudly. Claire groaned and whipped out a large hunting knife from underneath his pillow with the arm draped across him. His eyes widening in alarm. When did she get that?!

"What?" she muttered sleepily, her knife dangerously close to his face. Tony stared at it nervously.

"Nothing, I thought I heard something." He muttered sheepishly. With incoherent mumbling Claire shifted back, tucking the knife back under the pillow.

"Crazy chick." Tony muttered as Claire hummed against him.

"Where were you hiding that anyway?" he asked curiously.

"You don't wanna know." she slurred with a giggle. Tony grinned in amusement and shifted again, drawing her closer to him.

"Can we at least turn off the noise machine now?" he asked, hoping she was just out of it enough to not notice.

"Hmmmm….sure babe." She sleepily agreed, instantly falling back asleep. Tony silently cheered before switching it off with the remote.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The next morning McGee was in the office, putting on his catering jacket for his undercover gig. Gibbs walked by and set a cup of coffee onto his desk.

"Thank you, boss." He muttered. Picking up a package and his coffee, McGee walked over towards Gibbs' desk.

"Hey boss, this was sitting on my front porch this morning." McGee explained.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked glancing down at it.

"Well it's a package addressed to Ziva." He explained. Gibbs sighed and stared up at his agent.

"Well yea I can see that McGee, what is in it?" he asked again pointedly.

"I wasn't sure if I should open it. But Ziva did tell me that Claire was expecting something from her." McGee mumbled. Gibbs shot him an eye roll and grabbed the package from him, pulling out his pocket knife to open it.

"That's probably why they're using you as their mule." Gibbs mused. Of course, they would because McGee would be the only one that wouldn't open a package sent to his doorstep. Gibbs sliced open the packaging to reveal a small black bag containing sunglasses with an extra lens.

"Sunglasses? With different lenses?" McGee mused curiously. Gibbs turned the items over in his hands.

"Why?" he asked.

"To protect her eyes." McGee suggested, causing Gibbs to turn and give him an unimpressed look.

"You know what I'm gonna ask her and I'm gonna find out." he amended sheepishly.

"Yea, that's a good idea McGee." Gibbs told him sarcastically.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

The light from the early morning slowly made its way under my eyelids, slowly waking me up from a deep sleep. Peeking my eyes open I noticed that it was only 5 in the morning, so the light wasn't actually sunlight. Lifting my head up it was just some kids playing with flashlights in the room across the street. However, I was already up so might as well do something. Shifting to a more comfortable position I tilted my head up and smiled. Tony was dead to the world, head cocked back, mouth open to produce a small snore and his normally pristine hair was all in disarray. I loved it. I lied there for a while, just thinking about how this could very possibly be our last day under cover. Our last day to 'pretend' to be together. That didn't sit well with me. What was going to happen once all of this was over? Pushing the negative thoughts aside I decided that I might as well make the most of our time. I loved spending time with him in this type of setting, like a couple and I would be sad to see it end. So if this is it then I want to get a good amount of relationship stuff in before we have to get back to work.

"Tony?..." I whispered, hoping to get his attention without alerting the camera that I knew was still on us. He snorted before mumbling something in Italian but didn't wake up. I grinned in amusement, reaching up to lightly tap his cheek.

"Tony?...Jean-Paul…..dearest…" I cooed hoping to wake him up easily. Luck didn't seem to be on my side. Realizing that I needed a stronger tactic I carefully leaned up and pressed a light kiss to the side of his lips. This got me a low hum. I watched him for a moment and giggled in surprise when he pursed his lips. I rolled my eyes and leaned up to press a kiss against them, chuckling when I heard him laugh. I rose a brow as he finally creaked open his eyelids.

"You were awake this whole time, weren't you?" I pursed my lips in amusement. He grinned at me cheekily.

"Ever since you started ogling me." He informed. I could instantly feel my cheeks heating up.

"I was not ogling you…..not with that bedhead anyway." I quipped with a gasp. Tony chuckled and wrapped me up into his arm, burying me farther into his chest as we chuckled.

"You know now that we're up we should do something productive." I suggested, sneaking a look up at him. Tony frowned and glanced over at the clock.

"What could we do at 5 in the morning?" he asked in confusion. I grinned.

"Well we could always shower…." I trailed off, lifting my head to look him in the eye. His brow shot up and a grin spread across his face. I watched as his face scrunched up thoughtfully.

"Hmm….then we could be ready for anything earlier…" he suggested, already buying into the idea.

"Yea, and that way we could be done before anyone came into the office…..you know to watch the camera or something…" I added pointedly. Tony lifted his head to look over at our camera flowers before smiling down at me.

"Race ya!" he darted towards the master bathroom, nearly tripping over the sheets as he did. I laughed quietly and followed him in, already hearing the water turn on. When I reached him I gently pried the earwig out of his ear and set it on the counter next to my own, just in case.

...

Later on in the morning after we had showered….among other things...Tony was stretched out, his arm and head dangling off the bead as he had fallen back to sleep. I however decided to keep watch; besides once I was up I was up for the day.

 **"Tony…Hey DiNozzo!"** McGee shouted into the earwig we were now wearing. Tony groaned and swatted at his ear sleepily.

 **"Tony!"** McGee shouted again, obviously watching the screen from NCIS.

 **"This is great, you're sleeping in a 5 star hotel and I'm a waiter."** I heard him mutter bitterly.

"Wanna trade places McGee?" I asked, watching Tony fondly. Yes it wasn't all that appealing to watch but because it was Tony I found it adorable.

 **"You're awake."** McGee realized as I made my way in front of the camera.

"Since 0500…. He snores." I explained grimacing internally at my lie. Was that really the best I could come up with?

 **"Got a package here for you. Ziva said you would know what it was."** he informed. I turned towards the camera in surprise.

"The shades? Can you bring them up with breakfast?" I asked, excited to see just what they could do. Sometimes Ziva's connections were handy.

 **"Sure. Gibbs wants Tony up too."** McGee added. I chuckled and glanced back over at him.

"My pleasure." I assured deviously and walked over towards him.

"Jean-Paul, my little furry bear. Wake up." I cooed in a sing-songy voice while I sneakily dumped some water over his head. Tony yelped in surprise and leapt up onto the bed into a defensive pose.

"I'm in the ready position boss!" he shouted instinctively as he stood up on the bed in his underwear. I stared at him incredulously, trying desperately not to laugh.

...

Later, once Tony had fully woken up the two of us were sitting at the corner table by the patio, enjoying our complimentary breakfast. Tony sat at the table sipping his coffee, donning a fancy sweater and slacks while I stood by the balcony, staring out the window with my new shades.

"We really should take you to see the doctor sweetheart." Tony mused as he watched me.

"Why is that?" I frowned, turning to face him.

"Because you can manage to sleep through sounds that are worse than a sailor with emphysema." Tony rattled off pointedly. I only glanced up at him in disinterest from my seat.

"It's a gift. Besides you're the one who snores." I countered evenly. Tony scoffed.

"I do not snore." He insisted. I shot him a smirk and he sipped on his orange juice evasively. Chuckling, I began switching out the regular lenses with the odd colored ones. I turned in my seat, placing my shades back on and looked back out the balcony. Something curious caught my eye and I turned back around.

"I'd really like some music." I informed Tony, trying to be subtle. Tony nodded, not getting the hint. I sighed and stared at him pointedly.

"Something with a little…..beat, dear." I added, with emphasis. Tony 'oh'ed in realization and grabbed the remote from the table.

"Sorry." He muttered and turned up the music so we could talk without being overheard. I put the shades back on and turned to look out the balcony. Tony leaned forward.

"What do we got?" he asked lowly.

"Sneaky people." I hummed, spotting the red dot coming from the infrared light aimed at our room from the building across the street.


	40. Chapter 40

**[** Under Covers 2] 

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"Top floor, northwest corner Gibbs. They have a heat sensor trained on our room." Claire relayed to the team in Abby's lab.

"I can't believe that your sunglasses can detect a different light spectrum. That is amazing." McGee mused.

"Yea well thank Ziva for that, she's the one who got them for me." Claire noted.

"DiNozzo, we're going to need a diversion." Gibbs informed as Abby glared over at McGee.

"I think we can manage something boss" Tony assured.

"Come on McGee you're with me." Gibbs instructed and the two took off. Abby scoffed, shaking her head.

"Ziva….. that is amazing…big whoop she can get spy glasses." Abby muttered bitterly, her arms crossed over her chest. How could anyone think that she was all great. Especially Claire!

"Anyone can do that she's not amazing she's just a…"

"Um you know we can still here you…right Abby." Claire asked over the speakerphone. Abby stared down at it, unaware that it was still on. With an embarrassed sigh she reached over to turn it off.

...

Up in the room a man was watching Claire and Tony through field binoculars. His head tilted to the side.

"I think I'm going to need a cold shower after this." He breathed in a daze as the sounds of moans filled their room from the audio.

"Disgusting." His female partner groaned. She looked down at the two forms moving at a rapid pace on top of one another.

"Give me those binoculars." She ordered and snatched them from his hands to watch.

...

In the room Claire was fake moaning as Tony did push-ups above her.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up.." Tony whispered as she moaned in between.

"96…97…" she counted in amusement as he groaned above her. Getting an idea she reached up to peck his lips after each one. Tony grinned and quickened his pace now that he had a reward.

"You sure we can't do this for real? It can be a good show for them." Tony asked cheekily. Claire bit her lip.

"In front of the whole team?...no thank you." She quipped, giving him a look. Tony groaned in annoyance and continued his activities.

...

In the building across the street, Gibbs and McGee were moving down the hallways towards the room, their guns ready.

"We're in position DiNozzo. Give it the big finish." Gibbs muttered as they reached the door.

...

The two mystery agents watched intently at the activity going on in the room.

"We could make a fortune off of this on the internet." The man mused with wide eyes.

"They're serial killers Yosef. I wouldn't recommend trying." his partner countered. Just as a loud and guttural groan sounded, McGee kicked down the door and the room flew into chaos of shouting. All four agents began shouting wildly at one another to drop their weapons, as handguns were aimed around the room. Suddenly they all froze as the words during the shouting began sinking in. The agents watching Tony and Claire, were FBI.

...

 **McGee's POV:**

Back at NCIS we watched as Tony and Claire lounged on the couch watching TV. The FBI agents had come back with us, leaving those two at the hotel to wait for instructions.

"I've got a whole new respect for NCIS agent McGee." The female agent, Marie, mused as they stood by my desk.

"You guys are hardcore." Yosef added.

"We just got lucky. It was actually the trained laser on the room that gave you away." I brushed off easily.

"We were talking about your agents pretending to be married assassins." Marie corrected.

"They were very convincing." Yosef added, with a suggestive undertone which grabbed my attention.

"I don't think anyone in the bureau would actually 'go all the way' just to sell a cover story." She added pointedly.

"I would." Yosef insisted and she rolled her eyes. What are they talking about?! Those two would never actually 'do it' just to sell an undercover story. I mean they were both adamant that they've never been nor ever will be physically intimate with one another. They aren't like that.

"Guys, they were acting." I chuckled, looking up at the two.

"Listen man, I know when someone's acting when they're having sex." Yosef insisted, leaning down towards me for emphasis.

"It's true, I've met his wife." His partner added. The sound of Claire's giggles alerted my attention towards the plasma. Slowly I got up and watched Tony and Claire interact with smiles and cuddles, drastically different from how they are at work. Listening to the conversation it sounded like Tony was teaching her Italian. He never spoke Italian to women unless he was trying to 'woo' them. What the other two had said was starting to sink in. They did look awfully comfortable acting as a couple.

"No Tony and Claire wouldn't…." I trailed off nervously, staring hard at the interactions. They're just friends right?...I mean yea there's been some sexual tension between the two recently and….now its not there…..but that didn't mean anything right? They were both just really good at this undercover stuff.

"It's not unusual for men to like love stories." Tony defended with a pout, causing Claire to chuckle at him fondly as their conversation had obviously changed. My brows furrowed, not wanting to believe that the two would really go all the way. Before I could question it anymore a very angry Fornel made his way to the office while an equally pissed off Gibbs rounded the corner.

"Are we free to go now?" Marie asked as the two met in the middle.

"Not yet. What the hell is NCIS doing at the Bartley?" Fornel fired off at Gibbs.

"Our job Fornel." Gibbs told him calmly.

"Yea? Does that involve jeopardizing our operation?" Fornel spat back. Gibbs glared at him incredulously.

"You're damn lucky we didn't blow these two away." Gibbs countered, gesturing to the uncomfortable FBI agents.

"Which wouldn't have happened if you hadn't have strayed from our jurisdiction!" Fornel countered loudly.

"Conference room…now." Gibbs growled at the man, the anger radiating off the two in waves. The three of us watched silently as they stormed towards the elevators, carrying on their conversation.

"You're so anxious to play with the big boys." Fornel muttered.

"Oh really?" Gibbs glared disappearing around the corner. The three of us left behind let out a breath of relief.

"Oh yea, this is going to be ugly." I muttered.

"Fornel hasn't been this upset since…"

"Since the last time we saw him." Yosef finished for Marie as they watched our bosses warily.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Walking into the elevator Gibbs punched the button, getting the doors to close as the two glared ahead of them. After waiting a few seconds Gibbs reached over to flip on switch, shutting down the elevator.

"Gum?" Fornel offered, the façade they put on completely gone from the atmosphere. Gibbs took it and looked at Fornel with a curious grin.

"The big boys?" he asked. Fornel smirked and the two chuckled, settling against the walls of the elevator comfortably.

"We really screwed this one up." The FBI man sighed.

"You think Tobias?" Gibbs chuckled knowingly.

"The question is how do we fix it without our directors getting into a world class pissing match?" Fornel mused.

"Join on." Gibbs shrugged easily.

"Who's lead?" his friend asked curiously. Gibbs threw out his hands indifferently.

"My team's already in place." He pointed out.

"Did you find out who hired them?" Fornel asked.

"Not yet but working on it." Gibbs offered. Fornel shook his head.

"I need more than that for my tap-dancing at the Hoover building, Jethro." He countered seriously.

"Give us 24 hours then we flip." Gibbs suggested.

"FBI gets operational control?" Fornel asked, liking the idea.

"Yea and credit for the case." Gibbs added.

"Agreed." They nodded and faced forward once more.

"We each get to save face and we…."

"Get the job done." Gibbs finished for him before reaching over to turn the elevator back on.

"People say we're bastards?" Fornel joked good naturedly.

"Only because they know us." Gibbs answered, causing them both to chuckle. The moment the doors opened back up the two men put back on their scowls and stomped back towards the team room.

...

Down in Abby's lab Chip, her new lab assistant that she didn't want but tolerated, was matching up the pictures from the surveillance at the dining hall that Tony acquired.

"I've got IDs of the people in the restaurant who had invites to the marine corps ball ma'am." He told her. Abby strained up behind him.

"Um…Abby sorry." He quickly corrected his blunder, aware that she hated when he called her ma'am.

"Make sure Tony and Claire get them." She instructed, fiddling with some tests on her evidence table.

"Should I also check the restaurant staff too?" he inquired, turning to face her. She stared at him thoughtfully.

"International assassins hired to take out a waiter." She reiterated with a frown.

"Well I was just trying to be thorough." Chip amended.

"No, it's good. Good instincts Chip, run them." She praised before turning back to work.

"Hey Abby can I ask you a question?" he cautiously began while working on the photos.

"…yes." She agreed.

"Why don't you like Officer David?" he asked curiously. Abby turned around, putting on an innocent face.

"What makes you think I don't like her?" She inquired.

"Well I found this…." he explained, holding up a photo of Ziva with a sharpied on clown face and hair.

"Oh…..that…" she trailed off, knowing she was caught. How was she supposed to feel when this person comes in replacing Kate, setting up Claire, and flirting with Tony with made his and Claire's relationship rocky. There was so much that Ziva was doing wrong.

"Well I understand, I have the same problem with DiNozzo." He told her.

"Tony, is a great guy. You just have to get to know him." Abby countered adamantly. Nobody talked bad about her Tony. Well…soon to be Claire's Tony but that wasn't the point.

"Yea…well…..you don't know him like I do." Chip told her vaguely.

"He always gives new people grief, he learned that from Gibbs." She defended.

"Ok quiz time." She chirped, handing him a sheet of information.

"What's your take on Sophie Rainer's blood test?" she asked him.

"Well she's got elevated levels of trinogoyoninbinanotrophin." He told her, reading over the chart.

"Which means?" Abby prodded.

"She's pregnant?" Chip suggested, looking to her for confirmation.

"Good Chip, she's pregnant." Abby nodded.

"Who's pregnant?" Gibbs asked, strolling into the room with Abby's daily Caf-pow.

"Claire. I mean not Claire, Claire but Sophie Rainer, our dead hit girl. She's got a bun in the oven." Abby explained.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Getting off the phone with Abby, I headed back into the main room only to find Tony ogling the FBI chick who was disguised as a maid. It made my stomach tighten into knots and I glared at the both of them from just inside the door. I held in a growl as she bent over, giving him what I assume was a great view as he couldn't tear his eyes away from her ass.

"Like what you see Agent DiNozzo?" she asked coyly, not turning around until after she had finished. Tony chuckled sheepishly.

"The room is clean accept for the listening devices that we had installed. We're free to talk." Marie informed him. Tony grinned goofily.

"Yea…so.." he cleared his throat nervously.

"So you're the one who's been watching us?" he asked, a bit of nervousness hidden in his eyes. That's right….they had been watching everything so if they squealed then we were screwed relationship wise.

"Oh yea, when this is over we should really go out for drinks." She flirted, walking over to stand in front of him.

"I…I'd like that." Tony agreed with a bright smile. Seeing that Tony wasn't going to do anything to deter her, it was my turn to step up to the plate. Making my presence known I walking into the room casually.

"I'm pregnant Tony." I announced. Instantly Tony's smile dropped and he stared at me with wide and terrified eyes. Did he really think I would know I was pregnant this fast?

"Maybe some other time." Marie suggested uncomfortably and shuffled away as I approached. Who needs to be jealous when you can be tactful.

"She was….she was kidding." Tony scoffed, gesturing towards me as he watched the other agent walk away. I looked up at him innocently.

"Is something wrong?" I asked curiously. Tony glared at me but I could see his amusement, knowing what I had just done.

"Thanks." He muttered sarcastically.

"Oh she's not your type anyway." I easily dismissed. His brows rose incredulously.

"Hot and in a maid's outfit? They don't get anymore 'my type." He informed pointedly. I turned to glare at him.

"Do keep in mind that for the duration of this mission you belong to me and have no right to ogle other women." I informed him, yanking him by the collar of his sweater. Tony chuckled and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Is that a promise?" he mused. I shook my head at him and leaned up to press a searing kiss to his lips. By the look on his face I guess he won't be forgetting that he's mine for a while. The cell ringing on the table grabbed our attention. I reached down to pick it up.

"He's learning." I mused, staring at the screen.

"The number's blocked." I explained as Tony took the phone from me to answer it.

"Talk to me." Tony answered I leaned in closer so I could hear the conversation.

 **"I've been told to negotiate a price coinciding with the risk."** The mystery man began.

"I'm listening." Tony continued.

 **"Not on the phone. Be in the lobby in exactly one hour. A black Lincoln will be waiting out front. Make sure you're not followed."** The man instructed before abruptly handing up.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

 **"Tony, Claire get ready to roll your hour is almost up."** Gibbs instructed after the NCIS and FBI teams had gotten into place around the outside of the hotel.

"Roger that boss." Tony acknowledged as he finished scanning over the photos of military guests at the hotel. He looked over to see Claire cleaning her gun.

"You haven't fired your weapon so it's already clean." Tony pointed out in a 'duh' tone.

"It calms my mind. It forces me to stay focused on the job at hand." she answered, not looking up from her work. Tony continued to stare at her thoughtfully as he stood up and made his way over towards her. Ever since she had told him about the 'pregnancy' he had been looking at her differently.

"Something wrong?" she asked curiously.

"Just trying to picture you pregnant?" he murmured softly with a smile. He thought that it would scare him but after letting it sink in….he couldn't help but like that mental picture.

"Don't." she told him, unable to stop her smile. It gave her a warm fuzzy feeling to think about the two of them in a domestic setting like that.

"I have to, I'm going to be a father. It's a great responsibility." He informed some teasing mixed with sincerity in his voice as he watched her. Claire stared back at him as she thought. Why would Mrs. Rainer take on this job knowing she was pregnant?

"Maybe it's not yours." Claire quipped, shooting him a thoughtful glance.

"Maybe she didn't know?" Tony suggested.

"Oh she knew." she countered knowingly.

"So why take this contract? Put her unborn child in danger." Tony questioned, trying to understand what the real Rainers were going through. Claire pursed her lips.

"Perhaps we needed the money." she told him, quickly reassembling her gun. Tony nodded and glanced down.

"Kids are expensive." He agreed.

"And bullets are cheap." She added.

"There's a big chance this meeting is a setup Tony." Claire told him seriously, looking over at him.

"Are you scared?" he asked, the corner of his mouth pulling up in a twitch. Again, semiserious. They both knew that their jobs were dangerous but coming to terms that they could very easily be killed didn't set well with them this time. This time they had someone to lose; each other.

"Nope, excited." She told him easily, diffusing the tension that they clearly felt. Tony grinned at her, knowing she was lying but loved her enthusiasm in the face of danger. He held out a hand for her and they two made their way out. Just before he opened the door, Claire yanked him back and planted a kiss to his lips. Tony let out a noise of surprise but quickly relaxed into the kiss, holding onto her for a few more moments. Breaking apart he smiled down at her, caressing the side of her face as he did.

"What was that for?" he whispered. Claire grinned up at him wryly.

"Just in case." She explained, taking his hand once more and leading him out the door.

"We're on our way to the elevator boss." Tony relayed as the two rounded the corner, passing a maid which Tony looked back to admire. Claire rolled her eyes and smacked the back of his head. Tony chuckled at how easily she got possessive.

 **"Tony, Claire we're not taking any chances on this one. First sign it goes bad you call it."** Gibbs warned. As they approached Tony quickly jogged to catch the near closing elevator.

"Hold the door!" he called and the waiter inside pressed the button.

"Thanks." Tony nodded, leaning against the entrance as he watched Claire step in.

"Sweetheart." He muttered under his breath as she passed, causing her to grin. They both stood in front of the table the waiter was beside as the elevator closed.

...

"We've got a match. Abby!" Chip turned around urgently. Not seeing her he quickly dashed off. Finding her he quickly tugged her back into the lab.

"The waiter's got a warrant out on him." he explained.

"For what?" she asked.

"Murder." Chip answered as the man's rap sheet was displayed on the screen. That very same man was standing in the elevator behind the two NCIS agents who were unaware of the situation. The man quietly pulled out a handgun equipped with a silencer and held it up to the back of Tony's head. As the door opened on another floor a gravelly voice spoke behind them.

"You're getting off here." He told them. The two agents whipped around, reaching for their guns only to see that he had moved it towards Claire's forehead.

"An unwise choice Mr. and Mrs. Rainer." The voice behind the phone calls mused as he noticed their position. They both turned around staring at the men in front of them.

"Weapons." The leader ordered and his blonde headed companion quickly searched them.

"We would have come to the third floor ourselves, three armed escorts seem a bit excessive." Claire coolly commented as she was shoved to the wall so they could search her back. Tony stiffened as he watched but bit his cheek to keep quiet. The man nodded at her in amusement.

"Very good. Our location and our number, in two sentences. It's too bad your friends can't hear you." He mused, picking up on what she was doing. The waiter behind them held up a radio device.

"You're being jammed." He informed smugly.

"Bring them to my room. If they resist….." the leader mused and watched the two of them bristle subtly.

"….shoot the woman." He finished and turned to lead the way. The blonde man shoved Tony forward and grabbed Claire's arm only for her to shrug him off, following the group by herself. The two agents shared a worried look, knowing that their team couldn't reach them with their devises unarmed by the jammer.

...

"Tony, Claire do you copy?" Gibbs asked. He, Fornel, and the director waited in MCTAC only hearing static.

"DiNozzo I said do you copy?" he asked again, watching the screen for any sign that they walked out of the building like they were told. Silence again.

"McGee what the hell is going on there?!" Gibbs asked, switching the feed back to their hotel room.

"Boss they're not in their room and they never arrived in the lobby." McGee explained, walking in to face the camera after searching for any sign of them.

"My teams have the entire outside of the hotel covered, they didn't leave the hotel Gibbs." Fornel assured.

"Their last contact was at the elevators, that leaves 11 floors they could have gotten off at." Director Shepherd added.

"11 floors McGee, how many rooms are we looking at?" Gibbs asked hurriedly.

"Um well if we don't count individual bathrooms and closets…" Gibbs groaned in exasperation.

"McGee!" he cut off.

"264 hotel rooms, 24 utility rooms." McGee quickly answered.

"They haven't checked in because they cant." Gibbs muttered.

"They're at the meet right now?" Jenny asked.

"They removed their earwigs and they dumped their coms when it was changed to the hotel." Gibbs added.

"Ok my role. My people seal off the exits…"

"No." jenny cut off Fornel, causing the two men to turn towards her.

"We wait." She told them.

"What for?" Fornel asked skeptically.

"For Claire to contact us. We move now we blow their cover Fornel." She answered sternly.

"And if their cover is already blown director?" Fornel countered icily.

...

In the hotel room, Claire and Tony watched as their earwigs were crushed on the side table. They were seated in chairs and tied back to back in the center of the room.

"There are two things you should be painfully aware of right now." The man droned, watching the couple.

"One, no one leaves this business. And two, never threaten the people who employ you." The leader told them darkly. Tony pursed his lips and nodded.

"Should I be writing this down?" he asked teasingly which earned him a punch to the jaw. Claire winced as she heard the sound of the collision and Tony's grunt of pain. She took in a breath, trying to keep a level head and not let her emotions get the better of her. If that were to happen then all rational would go out the window.

"I'm gonna take that as a no." Tony muttered, running his tongue over his sore lip.

"Where's the disk?" the leader asked. Claire stared ahead blankly.

"What disk?" she asked calmly. The man looked over at his associate who landed another blow to Tony's face.

"Where Mrs. Rainer?" he asked again.

"What makes you think we have it?" she countered.

"We spotted you back at the restaurant. On some level, you must have known this was going to happen." he man explained, watching her carefully. Claire hummed.

"Observant. How much is our disk worth to you?" she inquired. Tony looked up at the man in front of him, already knowing what was coming. He braced himself as another heavy hit was landed on his face. Claire bit her cheek as Tony coughed roughly, the pain quickly making his head fuzzy.

"I have a better question." The leader countered, standing to walk over and face her.

"What's it worth to you?" he asked. Claire didn't answer and Tony was struck another couple of times, his shirt covered in blood that was coming from his nose and mouth. After another hit Claire, couldn't stand it anymore.

"Stop." She ordered, her voice wavering in the slightest. Tony groaned in pain as the man took a break from pounding his face in. The leader went to kneel in front of her.

"Out of professional curtesy. I've had Mr. Cord go lightly on your husband." He explained patronizingly as Claire went back to stoic.

"And I appreciate that." Tony quipped behind her.

"Unfortunately we're running out of time." The man continued, ignoring Tony. Claire swallowed.

"If you let him go I'll tell you where the disk is." she bargained. The man looked over at the waiter who brought over a small metal case.

"You'll tell me either way Mrs. Rainer." He assured. Claire watched as he pulled out a large knife from the case. He grinned down at her sardonically.

"Why don't you two take a moment and consider your options." He suggested, placing the knife back in the case before walking away. The three men left to wait in the adjacent room to let the couple talk. As soon as the door closed they turned their heads towards one another.

"I might have a plan." Tony wheezed out before she could say anything. Claire frowned as she caught sight of the cuts all along his face.

"What?" she asked.

"The Rainers obviously stole something they want and you're going to give it to them." He explained. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"We don't have it." she countered, watching him worriedly.

"You tell them it's in our hotel room. The only way they'll find it is if you show them. McGee should be waiting for us in there." Tony insisted, taking a heavy breath after talking. Claire went to protest but groaned, knowing he was right.

"Good plan, except for one minor drawback." She told him sternly.

"What?" he frowned.

"When I'll leave…they'll most likely put a bullet through your head." She told him fearfully. Tony looked back at her, picking up on her tone. He tried to smile at her comfortingly.

"Oh…well….I didn't say it was a perfect plan." He countered jokingly. Claire turned to look at him in shock.

"Then we're not doing it. We can think of something else." She insisted, not about to let him sacrifice himself. Tony sighed, and shook his head in protest.

"No that's the best we have." He told her gently. Claire bit her lip, trying to maintain her composer.

"I am not about to let you send me out while you are left here to die." She muttered tearfully. Tony paused and tried to smile at her in an attempt to stay strong for her.

"It'll be ok. Maybe he won't. But if he does then I will be ok going out, knowing that you are alive and have a fighting chance." He told her seriously, wishing he was in a different position so he could hold her. Claire's breath hitched at his words but the door opened before she could say anything. Only two of the men came back in this time, having the waiter go out into the hotel. The leader picked up the knife and studied it carefully in front of them.

"Did you know the Peruvians make blades so sharp that some people can't even feel the initial incision." He mused. Instantly Mr. Cord's hands latched onto Claire's neck. Hearing her gasp Tony reacted instinctively.

"Stop." He ordered, watching them out of the corner of his eye.

"The disks are in our hotel room." He told them quickly.

"Don't, he'll only use it….." Claire tried to protest but they didn't listen.

"Where?" he asked. Tony swallowed thickly.

"She has to show you." He explained.

"Not what I asked." the man pouted and moved the knife to rest against her cheek.

"You'll never find it without her." Tony quickly insisted, his nerves spiking as he knew the blade was close to her.

"Even if you kill us." Tony added knowingly. Claire watched the knife near her face nervously as the leader thought for a moment.

"Untie her." he ordered. She let out a breath as the hands left her neck and went to undoing her bonds. The leader dialed a number and waited a moment.

"Clear the room I'm on my way up with the girl." He relayed before hanging up. The two swallowed nervously, knowing that McGee was most likely already waiting for them.

"You're only mistake was going for one last big payday." The man mused as he settled a coat over his revolver to hide the weapon. Claire stood and rubbed her raw wrists.

"You got greedy." He scolded.

"I'm pregnant." Claire countered. She made eye contact with Tony, hoping he would go along with her idea. Perhaps if they could really play it up then the man wouldn't kill them.

"Really?...congratulations. boy or girl?" he asked kindly.

"Don't know. We want to be surprised." She answered, watching his reaction.

"It's the best way, believe me. How many months?" he asked, glancing over her form obviously looking for the bump.

"Three." Tony answered.

"Morning sickness?" the man inquired.

"Only every single day." Tony mused. Claire watched him, knowing what would probably happened the moment she left. Hearing him talk about 'their family' so calmly unsettled her, knowing that soon it might all be taken away.

"I hated to see my wife go through it. But believe me, it's all worth it in the end." the man informed them.

"So you're not going to kill us?" Claire cautiously asked. The man grinned.

"We're assassins. You know we can't just walk away from the game when we feel like it." Claire continued watching him curiously, not knowing what was going to happen.

"Hell don't you think I would rather be at my daughter's fifth birthday than here?" he told them seriously.

"So you are going to kill us. Right?" Tony asked nervously, shooting Claire a look.

"I haven't decided yet." The man grinned deviously.

"Give me the disk and we'll see." He explained, gesturing for Claire to head out.

"If I'm not back in five minutes….kill him." he ordered the blonde man. Claire shot one last look at Tony, trying to convey all of her unspoken emotions in one glance. Tony smiled sadly at her, the two of them locking eyes as long as they possibly could before she disappeared into the hallway. The moment the door shut the Mr. Cord began taking off his jacket to reveal his weapons.

"That was purely for your wife's cooperation." He informed, leaning over and picked up the large knife from the table.

"We like to call them little white lies." He mused. Tony stared up at him unsure of what he could do in here, all the while trying not to think about what would happen to Claire. But hoping and praying she would make it through this, even if he didn't.

...

Leading the man towards their hotel room, Claire spotted the table that the waiter accomplice had been using sitting by their door. The leader tossed her key-card onto the floor.

"Open it." He ordered. She easily bent down and unlocked the door. Glancing around the room she spotted McGee lying face down in the middle of the room. She sprinted over towards him, checking for injuries or a pulse.

"I hope you weren't counting on your backup Mrs. Rainer." Her captor mused. Claire grinned wickedly, her back to the man.

"He's not my backup." She countered. The man frowned in confusion and looked around only to be met with Gibb's fist into his face.

"Tony?" Gibbs asked frantically.

"Third floor, room 356." She answered, helping McGee to his feet before taking off in that direction.

...

Tony grinned nervously as the man watched him in intrigue, twirling the knife in his hands.

"You know what's funny? I was really looking forward to having a kid there for a minute." he mused with a chuckle. The man just frowned at him.

"This is a big step for me, having a little DiNozzo running around." He added thoughtfully, taking a moment to reflect on his life. Tony was almost happy to have a fake glimpse at a pregnant Claire, maybe carrying his own little one. Maybe a son with her eyes and his smile. Or a little girl that he can dote on that looks just like her mother. His heart hurt with the possibility of missing out on that.

"DiNozzo?" the man snickered. Tony whipped his head up seriously.

"Yea that's my full name. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS." he listed off, the man's expression dropping at every word. Not giving him time to react tony stood up and swung the joined chairs around into the man, knocking him onto the floor.

...

From down the hallway, the NCIS team rushed towards the room, guns drawn. Inside they could hear thumping and grunts. Gibbs wasted no time and shot at the handle, letting the door swing open. He and McGee ran in first followed by Claire, all of them easing up when they spotted Tony violently kicking the man on the ground, letting out grunts of frustration as he did.

"How does that feel huh? Huh big guy?!" Tony taunted the unconscious man as he got payback for his face.

"You want to punch me again? Come on!" he shouted not hearing Claire's attempts to calm him. She rushed over and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Enough Tony. I think you made your point." She calmed. Tony looked up at her breathing heavily, just seeing her face and knowing she was fine instantly put him at ease. Instead of kissing her like he wanted to do, he remembered the other two in the room.

"I want a divorce." He informed Gibbs. Claire shrugged in amusement, causing Gibbs to chuckle.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at NCIS Tony was groaning as he reached up to pull the bloody tissues from his nose. Everyone had come to see him after he got back from the ER and we were gathered around his desk.

"Well the emergency room seems to have done a good job. How do you feel?" Ducky asked, looking down at the man.

"Better now that I can breathe." Tony quipped, tossing the tissues away.

"Well there shouldn't be any permanent damage. How many times did he hit you?" Ducky asked curiously.

"I wasn't counting." Tony murmured, letting Ducky tilt his head in search for any other injuries.

"Seven times." I answered easily.

"She was of course." Tony glowered at me playfully. I grinned but it didn't reach my eyes.

"It was hard not to." I countered.

"I'm sorry I missed all the excitement." Ziva mused. She had just arrived back from some other duties she was doing for the director.

"We're going to take really good care of you Tony. I had Chip pull your car right around front." Abby told him. Tony's eyes widened in alarm and he shot up at the news.

"He drove my car?" Tony panicked.

"Just from your parking space, I took extra special care." Chip assured.

"Oh….thanks." Tony winced, not at all thankful. The two of them didn't get along still.

"And I'm driving you home." Ziva added, holding up his keys with a grin.

"Probie!" Tony pleaded, his eyes widening comically in alarm.

"Um Ziva maybe you shouldn't drive him home tonight." McGee suggested, understanding Tony's panicked look.

"Why is that?" she asked frowning as I gently took the keys from her.

"Maybe he wants to live." Abby answered sarcastically. Ziva glared at her.

"Well however you get home, I suggest a couple of aspirin." Ducky told him, prodding at Tony's face causing him whimper.

"Yes and perhaps some scotch." He added, seeing Tony's expression.

"I thought doctors weren't supposed to prescribe alcohol anymore Duck?" Gibbs asked, walking into the room.

"Well it always seems to work for you." Ducky quipped.

"Alright goodnight boss." Tony told us and tried to stand up, only to topple over into his filing cabinets. Abby and I rushed forward to grab him, struggling a moment to drag his dead weight upright.

"I'm alright, I'm good." Tony muttered nonchalantly, letting his arms dangle over our shoulders. McGee walked over to stand behind us as we guided tony to the elevators, leaving Chip to head back downstairs and Gibbs to watch us in amusement from his desk. Once we made it to the parking lot, I spotted Tony's car sitting right in front of the door like Chip said.

"Alright Tony, I will drive you home and make sure you're taken care of." I announced, grunting in surprise when Tony slumped against me as he stumbled once more. Abby and McGee chuckled at him.

"Are you sure Claire, we can do that if you want?" Abby suggested, but by the look on her face she was all for me spending quality time with Tony. I rolled my eyes at her.

"I'll be fine. I'm used to being his babysitter. You two go get some sleep." I assured, setting Tony into the passenger seat. The two of them relented and waved as I pulled out of the yard. The ride home was silent other than the sound of a wince from Tony ever so often. Getting help from one of the doorman, we were able to drag Tony up into his apartment and onto his bed. Making sure he was comfortable I walked into the bathroom to find some aspirin in his medicine cabinet. I sat down beside him, and handed him a glass of water so he could wash them down easier.

"Tony we need to talk." I began. The whole way over here this whole relationship thing had been bothering me. I know we said it was temporary…..but I liked it. I didn't want it to stop but that was just me. I had to know what Tony wanted to do about it.

"About what?" Tony asked, moving his jaw around to work out the soreness.

"About what happened on the mission….to our personal lives." I explained pointedly. Tony shied away from my gaze.

"But I don't want to talk about it. I thought we agreed not to." He mumbled nervously. I frowned at him.

"But I do want to talk about it. So…." I countered but then didn't know how to actually go about addressing the elephant in the room. We sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity.

"I know we said that it was temporary…but what would you think about…..prolonging it?" I asked quietly, not daring to look up at him. I heard Tony sigh and bit on my lip nervously; unsure as to what he was going to say to that.

"I wouldn't mind." He told me shyly. My head shot up and I stared at him curiously. Tony shy? He grinned at my shocked expression. Reaching out to grab my hand he began fiddling with my fingers.

"I kinda liked and it seemed pretty natural. Better than I would have ever thought it would go." He admitted with a grin. I smiled back at him, my heart warming at what we were getting at.

"So, we can keep this up then. But on the down low right?" I asked once more, not wanting to assume things. Tony chuckled.

"I would love that." He assured. With a grin I leaned forward to gently press a kiss to his lips, Tony humming in contentment. We stared at one another with broad smiles as we broke apart.

"Let me go break out that scotch." I suggested, before bounding into the kitchen happily.


	41. Chapter 41

[First Morning] 

**3** **rd** **Person POV:**

That next morning Claire was jolted awake from her slumber by a loud groan of pain. Blinking away the sleep from her eyes she found herself lying on Tony's couch. She slowly sat up, shifting as to get rid of the kinks in her back. Another pitiful groan was heard from farther into the apartment, namely Tony's room. Claire got up and walked over to the room, pushing the door open and peering in. Tony sat up in the bed, hands running along his face as he tried to work the pain out of it. She smiled a bit at his utterly disheveled appearance.

"How's your head?" she inquired, making her way to sit on the bed beside him. Tony frowned and looked at her through his fingers.

"I though you left?" he mused groggily. Claire shook her head in amusement. He was definitely not a morning person.

"Tony your face is busted up and you might have had some serious damage. I was not going to leave you alone." She countered, prying his hands from his face to examine the cuts.

"You had some more scotch after I fell asleep, didn't you?" he countered with a deep chuckle. Claire bit her lip at the alluring sound.

"Just a bit. But regardless I wasn't leaving you just yet." She explained. Tony watched her silently as she took his face in her hands and looked over the various bruises and cuts. Finding one that was blooming along his cheek bone she pressed on it gently, causing him to flinch.

"Might want to put some ice on that shiner." She suggested.

"A kiss might make it better too." He countered, flashing her a cheeky smile. Claire chuckled and leaned in to lightly press a kiss against it, but at the last second he maneuvered so she hit his lips instead. She squeaked in surprise and Tony reached up to press a hand on the back of her head, keeping her in place. Breaking apart she grinned at him, pleased that this was still very real. A part of her had wondered if it was just a dream. They two of them grinned at one another, obvious that a burden had been lifted off their shoulders.

"Well did that work?" she asked him in amusement. He hummed thoughtfully.

"Not so much for my bruise but it did wonders for everything else." He answered. The two of them chuckled. In doing so Tony's cheek moved painfully and he winced, bringing them back to the present issue.

"Seriously we should ice that." Claire reminded in a motherly fashion.

"Fine." he relented and began getting up only to be pushed back down by Claire.

"Tony, I don't think you should be getting up this soon. You need to take this day off and rest." She chided. He scoffed and stood up, grabbing her hands in his.

"He busted my face not my legs. I will be fine." he dismissed. His smile slowly faded as her stern look didn't falter.

"Can I at least move to the couch?" he sheepishly asked, much like a child being scolded. Tony watched nervously as she bit her lip, considering his proposal.

"Fine but that's it for now." Claire relented, a small smile on her face. Tony grinned fondly at her as he let her drag him out into the living area.

"Did you sleep out here?" he asked, picking up the throw blanket that she had left behind. She glanced back at him as she made her way into the kitchen.

"Well I assume so as that's where I woke up." Tony grunted as he reclined onto the sofa.

"Why didn't you just climb in with me? It's not like it would be anything new. Pretty sure we already passed a couple of those hurtles relationship wise." He quipped. Claire held in a giggle as she brought out a coffee and a bag of frozen peas.

"I would have even been generous enough to let you take advantage of me while I slept." He added, looking up at her seductively. Claire laughed out loud at that and firmly pressed the peas against his face, eliciting a grunt of discomfort.

"Slow down there Casanova. We're already dating now so you don't have to try and woo me." She scolded. Tony chuckled, holding the peas on his own now.

"Sorry, force of habit." He apologized sheepishly. She shook her head in amusement and handed him the coffee, Tony thanking her before she made another trip into the kitchen to grab her own cup.

"Are you up for a movie?" she asked, already looking through his extensive DVD collection. Tony didn't answer as he was distracted by how good her legs and butt looking in the legging she was wearing. Claire waited for him to say something but when he never did she whipped her head around. Tony didn't even react and continued smiling appreciatively at her. She rolled her eyes, having anticipated that now they were 'official' or whatever he would be much bolder around her when it came to situations like this.

"See something you like?" she asked cheekily. Tony chuckled and glanced up at her face.

"Only when you're in the room." He answered with a grin. Claire snorted in amusement.

"Smooth." She muttered before picking out a DVD and popping it in. Tony shifted to make room for her as the two snuggled under the blanket, watching as Casablanca began playing.

"Hm black and white movies…..I approve." Tony hummed as he slung a casual arm around her shoulders.

"I figured you would." She smiled, feeling his heartbeat under her head as she had her head resting against his chest. A few minutes into the movie the couple heard the sound of knocking on his apartment, Claire leaping up to look through the eyehole. Tony watched her curiously as she eagerly opened up the door, his attention straying from the movie. He frowned as she took some boxes from the young man at the door, chatting kindly with him as she did. But what he was bothered by was how attentive the boy was when she was talking. His eyes seemingly lit up in her presence, and while she was distracted Tony glowered at his wandering eyes. Before he could find the energy to get up and step in Claire handed the delivery boy some cash and bid him goodbye, promptly shutting the door behind him. Picking up the boxes once more Claire happily made her way back to him on the couch. She opened up one of them and held out the container full of fresh pastries out to him; but her smile faltered a bit when she saw his grim expression.

"What?" she questioned, her mind reeling as she tried to figure out why he was acting like this. Tony shrugged stubbornly and grabbed one of the goodies, promptly stuffing a bite into his mouth.

"Nothing…..who was that?" he asked in a casual tone, while chewing on his breakfast. Claire watched him in confusion as she pulled out a pastry of her own.

"That was Jacob. He works at the café that I always go to. Thus the goodies that you are currently devouring." She answered easily. Tony hummed thoughtfully.

"He seems to be awfully friendly with you." He pointed out, not looking directly at her. At this she paused, a smile slipping onto her face.

"Tony are you jealous of a teenage boy?" she asked in amusement. Tony scoffed but didn't answer, not able to admit that he kinda was. Claire laughed.

"If I recall correctly I'm not at his apartment right now watching movies and sharing homemade pastries." She trailed off. Tony smiled sheepishly at her; after all she did have a point. With a chuckle of his own Tony pulled her back down into their previous position, getting back to the old movie on the television.

"Besides he's too young for me anyway." She added as an afterthought. Tony stiffened and glanced down at her.

"So if he was older would you date him?" he grunted. Claire giggled.

"No, but I couldn't pass up teasing you about it." She admitted, feeling his body relax at hearing that. He was so easily riled up.

"You know you can be mean when you want to." He growled playfully. She lifted her head and looked up at him.

"Yes, but you love me for it." She quipped. Tony chuckled and leaned down to kiss her soundly on the lips.


	42. Chapter 42

[Honor Code: 1] 

...

 **Claire's POV:**

McGee stepped out of the elevator carrying the drinks and wraps for his turn on the lunch run. He and Ziva had carpooled together for the food run as Tony and I double teamed for breakfast. We had been keeping our relationship low key for the past few days and so far I think we had been doing pretty well….or at least I hope so. It's extremely hard to hide things like this when you work trained investigators every day.

"A whole hour for a lunch run Probie?" Tony quipped irritably. I rolled my eyes with a grin as his hunger was getting the best of him. It wasn't as bad as he made it out to be.

"Yes well uh…..while Ziva and I were out she asked me to show her the best routes to work. You know her driving has gotten a lot better. She barely broke any laws this time." McGee explained, dropping off Tony's food by his desk before making his way over to mine. Tony frowned up at him and looked over at the man in confusion.

"Let me get this straight." Tony began, pointing his wrap at McGee thoughtfully for emphases.

"Ziva asked you, who can barely navigate the navy yard, to show her the best way to work?" Tony reiterated questioningly. McGee nodded as he sat down at his desk.

"That's right" he confirmed. Tony frowned.

"What's the big deal about that Tony?" I asked, munching on my wrap as I was starving.

"But what about me? I know every shortcut in the metro area. I could shave like 10 minutes off her commute like that." He rambled, snapping his fingers at the end.

"Oh don't be so dramatic. So she asked McGee, there's nothing wrong with that." I countered, rolling my eyes at his dramatics. He pouted, in my opinion quite adorably, and flipped his wrap before catching it once more and walking back over to his desk.

"I don't know what to tell ya." McGee grinned tiredly, leaving Tony even more confused.

"It doesn't make any sense." He muttered, thinking hard on what he was missing. I could see a light come on in his brain as he reached his desk and grinned.

"Unless…." He drawled, smirking deviously before popping his jacket proudly.

"Maybe I intimidate her." He suggested smugly as he propped his feet up and opened his newspaper. I snorted, causing Tony to purse his lips and peer over his paper at me unamused. McGee rose his brows and looked at Tony in amused disbelief.

"Yea I'm sure that's it." I mused sarcastically, the two of us snickering.

"I've seen it happen before, it's a chemical thing. Hard to explain." Tony shrugged, still grinning triumphantly. I rose an amused brow as he shot me a cheeky wink. I do hope he's implicating what I think he is.

"I do hope you try." Ziva cut in from behind Tony, making him jump.

"I told you not to do that again." Tony muttered in embarrassment as she continued to sneak up on him.

"I'm sorry I was so intimidated by your presence I must have forgotten." she informed snarkily. McGee and I watched in amusement. Tony shot a glare over at us, already knowing that we would be enjoying his torment.

"But seriously Tony I do apologize for not asking your advice on my commute." She apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Tony grimaced, not enjoying how smug she was.

"If I'd have known that you would have felt so…emasculated? Is that the word?" Ziva turned to McGee, asking if she had it right.

"Yes." McGee nodded eagerly.

"Absolutely." I agreed; Tony shooting me a withering grin.

"That's right emasculated, I would have asked you first." She finished. Tony slowly stood up to face her.

"It takes a little more than an exotic accent and some stealth ninja moves to emasculate me." He assured lowly.

"Only a little more? How disappointing." She whined in a baby voice before whipping around to her own desk. Tony's baffled expression caused the two of us to chuckle.

"Don't take sides Probie." Tony warned with a glare.

"Claire I expect." He pouted, but I could tell by the teasing glint in his eye that he didn't mean it. I stuck my tongue at him childishly.

"Gear up, missing person. Coleman park carousel in Arlington." Gibbs instructed as he strode into the bullpen. I paused, with my bag halfway over my shoulder.

"A child?" I asked worriedly.

"A father, Lieutenant Commander Alex Tanner. He disappeared an hour ago." Gibbs corrected.

"Do you always respond to missing person's cases so promptly?" Ziva questioned.

"Special circumstances Ziva. His 6 year old son called NCIS, he's in the park alone and waiting for us." Gibbs explained. My heart broke for the kid. That has to be a hard situation and at such a young age.

"DiNozzo you drive." Gibbs instructed, tossing the man the keys as he walked past. Tony looked over at me thoughtfully.

"Oh I think McGee wants to drive boss." Tony countered, throwing the keys towards him. I bit my lip to hide my grin. He was trying to get sent to the back of the car to sit next to me, as that tends to be my usual spot.

"Um you know what Tony, I would really rather have one of you drive." McGee countered, tossing the keys in my direction. Tony chuckled while I thought of a counter.

"Afraid you're going to run over another fire hydrant, which I'm sure that wasn't your fault. Wait a minute it was according to the police report." I teased as we followed Gibbs towards the elevator. McGee glared at me.

"I'll drive." Ziva snatched the keys from my hands before entering the elevator.

"One more word and your all walking." Gibbs warned as we all filed in.

"You got it boss." Tony cheered, holding his thumbs up dramatically. Gibbs jerked towards him with a glare and Tony quickly used his hands to cover his manhood.

"I deserved that." He admitted sheepishly.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the park a cute little brown haired boy waited patiently on a park bench by the carousel. Tony spotted him and walked over, notepad in hand. Claire trailed behind him just in case

"Zach? Hey I'm Special Agent DiNozzo and this is Agent Conners. You can call me Tony OK?" he began, being very professional and stiff. Again Claire was better at this stuff than he was, especially with kids as he didn't have a great track record with them.

"It's a smart thing to do calling NCIS, good boy." He winked. Zach stared up at him quizzically, his expression saying, 'you did not just say good boy to me like a dog'. Claire nudged him in the ribs, giving him a similar expression.

"Alright I know this is very scary but I need you to be brave can you do that?" Tony continued, talking slowly. Zach still didn't answer but just stared at Tony who shrugged.

"OK, I want you to think back to what happened today." Tony explained. Zach continued staring at him silently.

"Try to remember the details." Tony continued as the boy blinked up at him.

"Tony why don't you…."

"Don't worry, I've got this." He assured, cutting her off from whatever she was about to suggest. Claire looked up in exasperation. Leave it up to Tony to try and be all macho, especially with the conversation this morning. Tony sighed and squatted down to Zach's level.

"There's no wrong answer." Tony tried again. Gibbs walked over to the group.

"What do we know?" Gibbs asked him. "I think he's in shock." Tony explained.

"No I'm not." Zach's quiet voice piped up. The three agents looked at him.

"I'm waiting for Agent DiNozzo to ask me a question." He explained. Gibbs smirked and looked at Tony in amusement.

"That's what I was trying to tell you." Claire added, holding back a giggle. Tony threw up his hands.

"What kind of questions was I supposed to ask?" he inquired in exasperation.

"What I saw, why I called NCIS…" Zach listed off thoughtfully. Claire smiled down at the rather mature six year old before them. Gibbs calmly sat down on the bench next to Zach.

"What did you see Zach?" Claire asked with an encouraging smile.

"Two men were watching us. I think they kidnapped my dad." Zach informed calmly. Tony sat down uncomfortably on the other side of the boy. Gibbs nodded.

"Describe them." He asked.

"Dark glasses, one had a military haircut, one had a shaved head." Zach explained to the agents.

"How old?" Tony asked, writing down the notes.

"About your age." Zach answered looking up at Tony. Tony looked over at him curiously at his assessment.

"They had iPods too." Zach added. Claire and Tony looked over at Gibbs who probably didn't know the device.

"It's like a Walkman boss." Tony explained.

"They were only listening in one ear, like this." The boy continued, pulling out his own iPod from his backpack and putting an earbud in on one side. Tony, Gibbs and Claire shared a knowing look.

"Be back in a minute Zach." Gibbs assured, the adults getting up to talk to the side.

"Dark glasses, earwigs." Gibbs reiterated thoughtfully as they circled up, keeping their voices low.

"Sounds like the feds." Tony sighed.

"You really think the FBI would arrest a man and leave his kid in the park Tony?" Claire asked him incredulously.

"Well maybe our commander took a walk. My father left me in Maui Hilton once for two days, he never realized I was missing until he got to room service bill." Tony countered as Ziva and McGee joined them.

"Sad but enlightening." Ziva mused. Tony made a face while Claire went back to check on Zach. Tony made up some excuse to join her, claiming to need more information.

"Boss I just spoke with his CO. He's very concerned, apparently commander Tanner was working on a highly classified DOD project." McGee explained.

"What project McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"He wouldn't say over an unsecured line but I'll find out." Tim assured.

"Footage from the security cameras?" Gibbs asked, turning towards Ziva.

"Park security released them to me." She handed Gibbs a VCR tape.

"Ok, call Zach's mom." Gibbs instructed.

"Um….." McGee stuttered but Gibbs continued.

"See if she can pick him up at NCIS." McGee dashed forward, preventing Gibbs from leaving just yet.

"Boss….um….his mother's dead. killed 4 years ago in a car accident." McGee explained gently. Gibbs nodded and glanced back at the boy who was chatting with Tony and Claire. He almost smiled at the sight. Claire was smiling down at the boy while Tony stood off to the side, obviously a little uncomfortable in the child's presence.

"Find married next of kin." He suggested, turning to walk away again.

"There is none." McGee told him. Gibbs frowned and looked at the man curiously.

"Just Commander Tanner and his son." McGee informed with a frown. Gibbs turned to look at the little boy who was sitting quietly now that Tony and Claire had been called away for other jobs.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at NCIS we were watching the carousel footage. As the ride we watched as two men approach the commander but always had their back to the camera on the ride.

"These guys definitely pros. Always keep their faces from the camera. All we've got to go on is the kid's description of them." Tony mused.

"Well it doesn't look like a kidnapping to me. They didn't have any guns, and they barely touched the commander." McGee added as we saw the men leading the commander away subtly. Commander Tanner looked back at the carousel where his son was with a nervous expression as he was led away. That didn't look like a guilty man to me.

"They could have threatened his son." I countered.

"Which explains why they left him alone in the park." Tony agreed.

"What do we know about Commander Tanner?" Gibbs asked, looking at the three of us. Tony pursed his lips quietly so McGee snatched the remote out of his hands to take the lead. Tony frowned as he brought up the commander's information onto the screen.

"Well boss, he is a brilliant man. A duel PhD from Cal-tech in number and chaos theory. I was actually reading his thesis online and he actually manages to non-relativistic quantum of facts…" McGee rattled on excitedly, the three of us completely lost. Tony and I shared a blank glance before looking back at McGee.

"Well that's useful to this case McGee." I sarcastically commented, giving him a pointed stare.

"Um the last 3 years he had been the liaison for the Navy's Defense contractor, QNR software. Uh, been the project lead on something called Honor." McGee amended.

"Which is?" Gibbs asked typing something up on his computer.

"Classified." McGee answered. Gibbs stood up to stare at him icily.

"Well….um…I put in a call to head of security over there and no one has gotten back to me yet." Tim nervously explained. At this point Ziva had walked into the room with Zach in tow as she led him to her desk. At least he seemed to be doing ok. Gibbs kept his stare on Tim.

"….so I figured I would pay them a visit?" McGee asked as more of a statement.

"Yea that's a good answer, Tony and Claire go with him." Gibbs agreed shortly.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

As the three of them filed out, Ziva made her way over to Gibbs.

"Sketch artist finished the assignment with Zach's description. The boy has remarkable memory." She mused proudly as the sketches were very descriptive and possibly accurate.

"There's also someone here from Social Security to pick him up." Ziva added. Gibbs looked up at her oddly at her blunder.

"Services, Ziva. Social security is for older people." Gibbs corrected.

"Noted." She nodded.

"Do you want me to tell the boy?" she asked quietly as the two looked over at Zach who was patiently waiting at Ziva's desk, his hands folded on top of it.

"No, I'll handle it. Here put out a bolo on the deposits." Gibbs instructed, lending her his desk. Gibbs sat atop the desk beside Zach.

"Hey Zach, good job on the sketches man." Gibbs complimented, patting the boy on the back.

"Thanks." Zach turned to peer over the dividing wall to see a woman and an agent talking by the elevators.

"So that's social services huh?" Zach asked knowingly.

"Mmhmm. Yea they're gonna take care of you until we get your dad back." Gibbs told him easily.

"I can take care of myself." Zach countered politely, causing Gibbs to smile.

"I don't doubt that." He agreed and reached over to ruffle the kid's hair fondly.

"But I still have to go?" Zach asked sadly.

"Yea, just for a while." Gibbs told him gently as they walked over to meet the social service lady.

"What if you…..what if you don't find my dad agent Gibbs?" Zach asked quietly.

"I'll find him Zach. I'll find him." Gibbs assured as he ushered Zach with a gentle hand on his shoulder. Gibbs paused and knelt down in front of him.

"Hey, if you ever need me or even just wanna talk. You call me ok?" he instructed, handing Zach one of his business cards. Zach nodded. Gibbs smiled and pat him on the back before sending him off.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

At the security office people were rushing about, causing a bit of havoc as we made our way behind the blonde, busty secretary Ms. Ozgood.

"I'm sorry I didn't get back to you right away agent McGee. We've been having some problems of our own." The secretary apologized earnestly as she led us through the building.

"Problems?" McGee asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. I'm only Mr. Connell's assistant." She explained as the lights flickered on and off before completely shutting off.

"That's been happening for the last half hour. They should cut back on." She explained with a sigh. As we waited in the dark I could feel a hand sneaking it's way under my shirt. Jumping from the contact I reached over and punched the culprit in the shoulder.

"Tony!" I scolded as he laughed at my reaction. Before I could let him have it, the lights came up again and a security guard nearly ran us over with his Segway. I quickly jumped out of the way, knocking into Tony who swiftly grabbed the secretary and swung her around to safety against the desk. I watched with a glare as she gazed up at him with a dazed smile.

"Are you alright Ms. Ozgood?" Tony asked, a charming grin on his face.

"Uh…its Laura." She told him, obviously enjoying his arms around her.

"Laura." Tony whispered lowly, not taking his arms away. Biting the inside of my cheek I stood there next to McGee as the two remained in their embrace. After a few seconds I cleared my throat loudly, getting their attention.

"If you two are done?" I quipped irritably. Tony looked over at me apologetically and another voice rang out in the lobby.

"Ms. Ozgood?" a man asked sternly, his hands on his hips as he surveyed the situation. Laura quickly untangled herself from Tony in alarm.

"I'll take it from here." He dismissed her curtly. She straightened her blouse in embarrassment and rushed off, Tony watching her go.

"Greg Connell, QNR security." He introduced himself to us.

"You guys sure got here fast." He mused in confusion.

"We just found out about the break-in ourselves about an hour ago." The commander man beside him piped up. The three of us looked at one another in confusion at this news. What break in was he talking about? As the men gestured for us to follow them upstairs I wanted to take a moment to have a little talk with Tony. Dragging him roughly by the arm I found a secluded alcove for us to talk. Tony rubbed his arm, as I threw him forward.

"What the hell was that?!" I spewed at him, feeling my emotions coming up to the surface as I had been keeping them in while in public. Tony looked at me curiously.

"You bumped me into her. What's the big deal?" he questioned.

"The big deal is you two were ogling each other and getting pretty comfortable as you felt her up." I growled. Tony held out his hands, trying to calm me down.

"There was no feeling up anyone. Besides, what else was I supposed to do with McGee standing there?" he pointed out gently. I glared at him, not following.

"What does McGee have to do with anything?" I asked him curiously, feeling my temper starting to simmer down.

"If McGee sees me backing off every woman I come across, he's going to know that something is up. I thought we were trying to keep this to ourselves?" he explained, walking forward and placing his hands on my shoulders. I glared up at him.

"Fair point but would it kill you to tone it down a bit. Especially around me." I asked him sincerely. Apparently I'm the actively jealous one in this relationship and if he was going to have to flirt to keep up a façade then this was going to be difficult. Tony chuckled before bringing me into a hug. I sighed and used the moment to lean further into his embrace.

"I'll do my best. Can't have you clawing someone's eyes out over me. That wouldn't be too subtle." He joked.

"Shut up." I mumbled into his chest, smiling as he placed a kiss on top of my head. With a heavy sigh I broke away from him and lead the way back to the lobby to continue on with our assignment.

...

"At 0300 this morning our network was breached.' Mr. Connell explained as he led us up to his offices, with the military commander in tow behind us.

"We didn't detect the intrusion until we rebooted our main servers for maintenance." He explained.

"Since then we've had our hands full tracking down the viruses they embedded in our system." Mr. Connell added as he showed McGee the haywire that was breaking out across his computer screens as they ran multiple tests.

"Do we know yet what data has been compromised commander?" McGee asked the military officer.

"It's clear they were going after a working copy of Honor but thankfully its protected by a key that exists outside our system." The commander explained. Laura chose this moment to bring in a tray off coffee for us.

"Your key doesn't sound very high tech." Tony mused as he nodded thankfully at her, the two of them sharing a lingering look. I glowered at the two, causing Laura to skirt away from us nervously. Tony bit back a grin, nudging me admonishingly in the ribs.

"It's an a-symmetric algorithm key that's committed to memory." Mr. Connell informed us.

"Without the key you can't get the software to work, it's just ransom one and zeros. Completely worthless." The commander explained further with a proud expression.

"So you see NCIS has nothing to worry about gentlemen." Mr. Connell assured us.

"Well great….except that's not why we're here." I countered lightly.

"Who has the Honor key committed to memory?" McGee asked. The two men looked at one another in mild alarm.

"Our project leader, Lieutenant Commander Tanner." The commander answered. Tony looked down at me with a sigh _. Well this just keeps getting better and better…_

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In the car Gibbs was fiddling with Zach's iPod that he had left behind. As he drove he curiously put one of the headphones in his ear and turned it on. Loud pop music blasted through making Gibbs jump violently and quickly put the device away. His phone rang and he quickly answered.

"Yea, Gibbs." He answered.

"We may have a problem boss." Tony explained quietly as McGee and Claire continued talking with the other men.

"The Honor code thingy Commander Tanner was working on may have been stolen. We're trying to confirm it right now." He explained.

"What's it supposed to do?" Gibbs asked.

"Break just about any encryption in use today." Tony told him.

"Well yea DiNozzo, I'd say that sounds like a problem." Gibbs told him heatedly.

"Oh it gets worse boss. According to the people here, Commander Tanner is the only one who can make it work." Tony added with a sigh.

"Alright I'm heading your way. I just gotta drop off Zach's pod thing first." Gibbs told him.

...

Zach Tanner quickly dialed the number on the card from a payphone out on the street.

"Agent Gibbs!" he quickly shouted as the man picked up.

"You uh calling about your pod thing you left on my desk?" Gibbs asked casually.

"No, he's here. The man from the park." Zach told him, with a teary waver in his voice.

"Let me talk to your social worker Zach." Gibbs instructed.

"I'm not in her office. As soon as I saw him, I took off." He explained, while eyeing the bald man that was looking up and down the street.

"Where are you?" Gibbs asked.

"Outside on the street." He told him.

"Zach I'm only a few block from ya, stay right where you are." Gibbs instructed sternly.

"I can't, he's leaving." Zach insisted, maneuvering around the phone to get a better view of the man.

"Zach, listen to me. I need you to…"

"He knows where my dad is! We can't let him get away!" Zach cried insistently.

"Hurry!" Zach shouted just before he dropped the phone and darted off after the man.

"Zach?! Zach?!" Gibbs shouted on the other end of the line. Gibbs instantly began speeding towards the curb near the social worker's office where Zach should have been. Meanwhile the boy was trotting down the street looking around frantically for the man. Suddenly a pair of hands reached out and grabbed him from behind, one covering his mouth so he couldn't shout.

...

Swerving up next to the curb, Gibbs threw the car in park and hopped out of the vehicle. Rushing towards the office he spotted a payphone with the phone dangling on the ground. Getting closer he spotted Zach's backpack on the ground next to it. Looking up he watched a big black sedan speeding towards the curb a few yards down from him. Once it was close enough a large bald man began shoving a reluctant Zach towards it, roughly shoving him up against the door. Gibbs whipped out his gun.

"NCIS let the kid go!" He shouted, getting the man's attention.

"Gibbs!" Zach shouted in response. The bald man pulled out his own weapon and fired, hitting the tree next to the agent. Gibbs quickly ducked down for cover, trying to maintain a visual on Zach as he did. With the man distracted Zach punched him hard in the nuts before darting away.

"You little bastard!" the man shouted as he hunched over in pain. Gibbs fired and shot the man in the shoulder. Realizing he was done for the man quickly opened the passenger door and scrambled inside as Gibbs continued firing. Zach made his way over to the agent and Gibbs quickly ushered Zach behind him to safety before stepping out to shoot at the sedan as it sped away. Once it was out of sight, Gibbs knelt down next to Zach who was covering his ears.

"It's ok." Gibbs told him gently; Zach staring ahead with teary eyes from the frightening experience.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at the office, Gibbs was busy blowing up a rubber glove. Zach was smiling brightly and laughing with the older man as he cracked jokes. Tony, Ziva and I walked down to stand next to the director who was watching the interaction with a soft smile.

"New hires just keep getting younger, eh madam director?" Tony joked.

"Obviously, you didn't get the memo agent DiNozzo." Jenny quipped back. Tony froze and looked at her quizzically.

"What memo?" he asked nervously.

"The one where it explains that the next person who calls her madam gets keelhauled." I explained, throwing him a smirk.

"Whatever that is." Ziva added, glancing over at the director who was smiling in amusement.

"It's uh…"

"Unpleasant." Jenny finished for Tony.

"Tell Gibbs I want him upstairs." She informed the three of us before walking back up to her office. With that we made the rest of our decent down the stairs towards out desks. As we approached, Gibbs paused blowing up the glove once more.

"What did the director want?" he asked, looking to Ziva.

"You….upstairs…." Ziva drawled. Gibbs shot her an amused glance at what she was making it sound like. Realizing her mistake Ziva looked away.

"I better check on those sketches." She muttered before getting back to work. Tony smirked over at her brief flustered moment.

"I got a BOLO out on the black Chevy suburban boss but…without plates…." Tony trailed off shaking his head. Gibbs wasn't able to tell us what plates were on the car that he shot up, leaving us with not too much to go on. Gibbs glared at him.

"DiNozzo you will spend the next 24 hours personally checking each one in Virginia, Maryland, and DC." he growled, as Zach continued messing with the latex glove beside him. Tony looked at him with a wary grin, waiting for the joke. It never came. Tony's expression morphed into an incredulous one.

"That's like an impossible….I'm on that." He muttered reluctantly, seeing the threatening look Gibbs was shooting him. Gibbs nodded and leaned down to whisper to Zach.

"Keep an eye on him for me." He pointed to DiNozzo. Zach nodded dutifully and stared over at Tony intently, causing me to snicker.

"I'll be right back." Gibbs told him before making his way upstairs. Zach continued staring over at Tony, from Gibbs desk. With a grin I made my way over to stand behind Tony, hoping to help him narrow down cars for the BOLO.

"I hope you realize that you're being babysat by a 6 year old." I whispered teasingly. Tony grumbled incoherently; my smile widened even more. Once Gibbs had gone Zach slowly made his way over towards us as Tony was typing away at his computer hoping to ignore the kid. When he reached the desk, Zach stood next to it and leaned on his crossed arm all the while continuing to stare at Tony. Tony paused his typing and looked at the boy out of the corner of his eye.

"You know he was just kidding when he said 'keep an eye on me'" Tony drawled but Zach didn't let up.

"I couldn't remember when Gibbs asked me, but I think I got it right." Zach scrunched up his face in deep thought.

"Got what right?" I asked in confusion.

"The numbers….I mean the license plate." Zach explained. Tony froze and looked down at him in shock.

"I was scared but I remember most of the numbers." Zach informed us.

"Alright Zach!" Tony cheered with a chuckle.

"My main man! Come on give me five!" he cheered, holding his hand up expectantly. Zach rose a brow and gave him a 'really?' look.

"Come on, meet me up high." Tony tried again, his smile fading as Zach didn't engage.

"Alright, we'll work on that." Tony gave up. Instead he turned to pat Zach on the shoulder uncomfortably.

"Good job." He praised again, before typing away so he could input the numbers. Once Tony's back was turned I looked down and winked at Zach, who smiled up at me proudly. He was one smart kid.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in Abby's lab, she and McGee were working on the computers while Chip was off to the side analyzing other evidence.

"Abbs give me good news." Gibbs told her as he strode into the room.

"Okay, so I got this email that said I may have won 15 million dollars and I'm really really excited." She instantly rattled off. Gibb stared at her blankly.

"Oh you mean about the case?" she asked jokingly and turned back to her computer.

"I've been going through QNR security logs and it's like the Fort Knox of security systems." She explained to him.

"The next generation antivirus software, intrusion detector…" McGee began.

"Crypto processors, ACL's, firewalls up the whazoo." Abby added but was cut off by a grunt from Gibbs, indicating for her to finish and get to the point.

"Ok well, no one can penetrate the system Gibbs. It could be disabled if someone had a high enough clearance." She summarized.

"This was an inside job" Gibbs mused and walked over to the big screen.

"QNR is monitored 24/7. All of the employees have passwords to gain access to the system." Abby explained.

"Like digital fingerprints, every keystroke is recorded for posterity." McGee added.

"At 3am this morning, someone planted a virus into the network." Abby showed him, scrolling down with her remote to the entry.

"It shut down the security system for exactly one hour."

"Long enough for our hacker to breach the network, remove the software, and plant the viruses." McGee added.

"Who?" Gibbs asked looking at Abby.

"The virus originated from Commander Tanner's cubicle, sir." Chip answered from behind them. Gibbs and Abby slowly turned to stare at him.

"Someone else could have used it." Gibbs countered, looking to Abby.

"No sir, the data is very clear." Chip countered, in place of Abby once more. McGee rolled his eyes as Chip continued.

"Simply pulling out the QNR security system was designed to be accurate under the circumstances that…." Abby held her hand out to stop his explanation.

"Chip." She scolded and pointed him back towards where he was supposed to be working. He nodded quietly and went back to where he originally was.

"He's right about the design though boss." McGee told Gibbs as Abby joined him once more.

"Who designed it?" Gibbs asked.

"Uh, QNR's first management team but all of their people are former law enforcement and military inverted at the highest level." McGee answered.

"Commander Tanner was inverted at the highest level too." Gibbs mused.

"She is reviewing computer statement from the employee's. I'm reviewing computer terminals but the virus wiped a lot of files." McGee reluctantly explained, explaining what the two of them had been doing. Gibbs shot him a glare.

"It doesn't look good for the commander, boss." He admitted. Gibbs turned to walk out but stopped in front of Chip, staring at him with a frown.

"Wipe that dirt off your lip." He instructed before storming out. Chip stared at Abby and McGee in confusion.

"Dirt?" he asked. They both placed their fingers over their upper lip, indicating his mustache.

...

In the office, Tony was escorting Laura out of the bullpen. As the elevator doors opened up the two of them were grinning flirtatiously at one another. However Tony tried to keep it to some sort of minimum, not wanting to upset Claire.

"I feel like I've wasted your time agent DiNozzo." She mused, steeping into the elevator.

"Bite your tongue, you've been great." Tony countered, leaning on the doors at he talked with her.

"I just feel so bad for that poor little boy." She sighed.

"Well listen, if you think of anything give me a call." He told her pointedly, handing over his business card. Laura smiled at him as the elevator doors closed and he sauntered backwards. As if feeling eyes on him Tony frowned and looked over to find Claire leaning against the wall watching him in amusement.

"Where have you been? I could have used your help with those interviews." Tony scolded, acting professional.

"Oh, you look like you had your hands full with her." she mused as she trailed behind him to the office. Tony shushed her playfully.

"Watch it with your sexual innuendo's around the kid. He's had a hard day." Tony pointed out. Zach was sitting at Gibb's desk with his earbuds in and drawing on a scrap piece of paper. Claire rolled her eyes fondly at him as he glanced around the office, making sure no one was watching.

"Besides…..I'd rather have my hands full with you."He leaned in for a quick peck on the cheek, grinning at her as she swatted at him. In that moment, Ziva was spotted headed their way so the two darted apart, looking over at the little boy in their office thoughtfully. Ziva paused beside them and smiled lightly.

"He took it better than most adults, he's resilient." She told them, watching Zach occupy himself.

"You see the way he's been acting around me?" Tony asked as he glanced over at the boy.

"I think it's because he doesn't like you Tony" Claire informed dryly.

"Kids dig me." He countered easily. The two girls jerked their heads back in surprise.

"No they don't." Ziva argued instantly. Tony scoffed.

"Zach? Zacharoo, buddy….come over here man." Tony called. Zach pulled out his headphones and strolled over towards them.

"I was going to wait until tomorrow when everyone was here but I was considering what a brave little boy you've been. And with how much you've helped us…" he began, practically baby talking to him. Ziva and Claire grinned in amusement as Zach stared up at him in disinterest.

"…I'm gonna make you an honorary NCIS agent!" Tony told him, holding up a certificate and making cheering noises. Zach grimaced and took the paper from him with two fingers, as if it was diseased.

"Thanks…..I gotta go to the head." He told Tony before walking off. The girls guffawed at the interaction, much to Tony's embarrassment.

"Yes Tony I was mistaken, your way with children is only rivaled by your way with women." Ziva chuckled. Tony grinned wryly, trying to play off his embarrassment.

"He's under a lot of stress." He explained. Ziva pursed her lips and nodded in mock agreement.

"And I do just fine with women, thank you very much." He continued, grinning smugly. Claire bit the inside of her cheek as Ziva snorted in disbelief.

"I find that very hard to believe." She dismissed. Tony looked at her challengingly.

"As a matter of fact, I plan on getting a little action tonight. What about you miss assassin? Huh, got any romantic plans?" He informed her triumphantly. Claire rose a brow at him.

"You do huh?" she mused dryly. Tony wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Oh I do hope so anyway." He added with a cheesy grin. Ziva rolled her eyes, quickly making her exit before Tony could make any more comments about his conquests. This left Tony and Claire alone in the bullpen once more.

"I do hope that was not a come on. Because you're going to have to do much better than that dearest." Claire teased, leaning on his desk teasingly. Tony chuckled before plopping down in his chair.

"Why don't kids like me?" he suddenly asked, looking up at her in confusion. Claire paused, sitting down on the corner of his desk.

"Don't take it too hard Tony, he's a special kid. Not everyone gets along with all personality types." She assured, wondering why he was taking it so personally. He sighed heavily, running his hands roughly through his hair.

"What happens when I have my own kids?" he asked her seriously. Claire chuckled and cupped his cheek in her hand.

"Tony, you're taking this way to hard. This is just one kid, and his dad is a genius so I wouldn't expect anything other than the way he is acting now." she pointed out. Tony pursed his lips.

"Why are you freaking out about this? What brought this on because you've never even considered kids as part of your life before." Claire asked him, leaning down to look him in the eye. Tony glanced down, finding his fingers very interesting at the moment.

"I don't know. I had a thought back undercover when you mentioned that you were 'pregnant'. I don't know, the thought of kids didn't sound so bad to me." He admitted sheepishly. Tony looked up at her curiously, seeing how she was taking it. Claire smiled down at him softly.

"That's really sweet, but I don't think you have to worry about that for a long while." She countered comfortingly. Tony shrugged.

"Well I think I already found someone to have them with and I'm pretty sure that's a pretty big part." He joked, grinning devilishly at her. Claire blushed but kept eye contact with him.

"Tony…" she began softly, but was cut off by the sound of Gibb's voice.

"Where's Zach?" Gibbs asked as he strode into the room. The two agents broke apart as subtly as they could.

"Poddy break boss." Tony answered as Gibbs sat down at his desk. Ziva came back around and stood dutifully in front of his desk. Gibbs looked up at her as they shared expectant looks.

"Are you gonna speak?" he asked her slowly.

"I got an ID on one of our suspects. His name is Vincent Pasto. Italian born, freelance mercenary, blacktops mostly some for work." She listed off as Gibbs looked at the surveillance picture of the man that Zach had described. Tony and Claire walked over to look at the photos over Ziva's shoulder in surprise.

"How'd you find out about that?" he asked skeptically.

"I sent Zach's sketches to some people who owe me a favor." She answered vaguely. Tony and Claire shrugged, figuring it was best not to ask.

"Well if he's got the Honor program and the guy who knows how to make it work then why did they go after his kid?" Tony asked.

"To force him to cooperate." Claire suggested.

"Then there's the possibility that Commander Tanner set this up to make it look like kidnapping." Ziva countered. Gibbs stood up quickly and checked over the room, raising a warning hand at her.

"Keep your voice down." He whispered, not wanting Zach to hear. Tony shushed her dramatically, getting her to frown in irritation.

"That's what I would do if it were my op." she told him sternly, leaning down to whisper to Gibbs.

"Including abandoning your kid?" Claire growled out in defense of Tanner. There was no way he would just up and leave when it was just them two left for family. Ziva sighed in irritation at being argued with.

"The authorities are looking for a kidnapper when they should be looking for a traitor." Ziva insisted.

"It doesn't feel right Ziva." Claire told her in the commander's defense.

"It doesn't have to feel right to be right." Ziva protested, standing up to the other agent. Gibb cleared his throat, intruding on the argument between the two girls.

"Alright, we're not going to get anything done going at it like teenagers. Let's go home and get some rest, nothing we can do tonight." Gibbs told them calmly.

"Where is Zach going tonight?" Claire asked instead, turning to look at her boss.

"We'll put him with one of us. I don't want to chance another kidnapping." Gibbs sighed, running a hand down his face.

"I can take him with me, I have an extra bedroom now that Devon has shipped out again." Claire immediately suggested. Agreeing with that solution the team headed home for the evening.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at my house I sat across from Zach as he finished up his bowl of homemade mac and cheese. Tony was at my right, wanting to visit and make sure things were secure for the night. At least that was the excuse he gave.

"Thank you for the meal Ms. Conners." Zach politely told me as I placed the dishes in the dishwasher.

"Zach you can just call me Claire." I assured him. Zach nodded and wandered into the living room, glancing over the pictures that I had hanging up. Tony swiftly made his way over to me as I was cleaning up my kitchen.

"So I take it that I won't be staying over tonight." He mused as he placed his hands on the counter on either side of me. I spun around to face him with a smile.

"You assume right." I confirmed smugly. Tony rolled his eyes dramatically.

"So much for me getting lucky." He muttered in a pout. I leaned forward to peck his lips, pulling away before he could return it. Tony grunted in displeasure.

"All right Casanova I think it's time for you to get going now." I pointed out, knowing that if he stayed much longer that Zach would pick up on it. I slipped under his arms and wandered into the living room to join Zach.

"Alright buddy, you sleep well! Need me to check for monsters?" Tony called as he headed towards the door.

"Believing in monsters is for babies." Zach deadpanned. I coughed to cover up my laugh. Tony sighed, shooting me a depressed look. Patting his shoulder in mock comfort I began pushing him out the door.

"Goodnight Tony." I urged, leaning my whole weight into shoving him out as he decided to be stubborn. Tony chuckled as he leaned back against me playfully before finally heading out and towards his car. Before he got in I sent him one last wave and locked up my house door.

"Don't worry about Tony, I know he can be a bit odd sometimes." I commented to Zach, walking up beside him as he stared at my photos on the fireplace.

"He tends to act like a little kid." Zach pointed out, causing me to snicker. He smiled up at me.

"Yes he certainly does, but a lot of times that's just for show. He can be mature when he wants to." I assured. Zach nodded quietly and looked back the photos before picking up one in the middle.

"That's my brother and my dad on a fishing trip we went on. My brother is in the Navy so he always loved sailing." I explained to him. The white sailboat was just coming off the dock and a friend of ours snapped the photo of the three of us waving towards the camera. It was one of the better memories when my dad was still involved in our lives before he got buried in all his military training. Zach yawned as he placed the picture back in it's place.

"Ready for bed? I have Devon's room all set up for you." I told him, leading him into the room beside mine. Zach crawled into the large queen sized bed, snuggling down under the covers.

"You ever do any sailing with your dad?" I casually asked, sitting on the bedside.

"I went sailing once, with my dad and Commander Wilder" Zach answered thoughtfully.

"It didn't go to well." He added.

"Did you get seasick?" I asked with a smile.

"No my dad did." Zach countered with a grin.

"Commander Wilder thought it was funny. You know my dad being in the navy and all." The two of us chuckled at the thought. Once it died down Zach began fiddling with his fingers before staring up at me intensely.

"You're going to find him, right?" he asked quietly.

"Oh yea, we'll find him." I assured. Zach sighed.

"Promise?" he asked looking up at me pleadingly. Sometimes with how old he acts and talks it's easy to forget that he is still a 6 year old boy. A little boy who's scared for his dad.

"Yea I promise." I told him. Seemingly pleased with the answer, Zach slouched down to rest his head on the pillow and yawned once more. I reached over to turn out the light and helped to make sure he was comfortable.

"My room is right next door at the end of the hall if you need anything. Doesn't matter what time and what reason, just come get me." I told him seriously. Zach nodded with a sleepy smile before closing his eyes. I stared down at him a moment, feeling strong maternal feelings with this little boy. I know he's not mine but having him abandoned in the park like that hit a cord with me. No one deserved all the things that he's been through. I leaned down to place a brief kiss on his head before making my way over to my own room to get some sleep.


	43. Chapter 43

[Honor Code 2] 

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The next morning Ziva strode into the office, making a beeline towards McGee.

"Where's Gibbs?" she asked.

"Um taking care of Zach, what's up?" he looked up at her curiously.

"Commander Tanner's bank statements." Ziva handed him the paper tensely.

"Do Americans usually empty out their bank accounts before they take their children to the park?" she pointed out.

"You're kidding." McGee murmured in disbelief.

"Savings, checking, money market, 23,000 dollars." She listed off with a frown.

"Gibbs is not going to like this." McGee muttered in disappointment. The evidence just kept stacking up against the commander, no matter how much they tried to prove his innocence. At this moment Tony sprinted into the office and started typing frantically.

"Are we solving this case to please him?" Ziva asked, offended that they were seemingly ignoring the proof.

"Got a trace on the Chevy suburban. Zach missed two numbers but I found the vehicle." Tony announced proudly.

"Rental car out of Maryland. ID's fake, credit card was stolen but that's our other kidnapper." Tony pulled up a picture of the license used to rent it out, matching the description of the other man Zach saw.

"Does the car have a navigation system cause if it does we can use the GPS…" McGee suggested eagerly but was cut off by a happy Tony.

"Two words for you McGee, low and jacks." He held up two fingers.

"That's one word." McGee corrected with a frown.

"A what?" Ziva asked in confusion, glancing between the two of them.

"It's uh…never mind. Tracked it down to a parking garage a couple miles from here." Tony explained, dismissing her question. Gibbs came up behind them and looked at the screen. Noticing his boss's presence, Tony turned towards him and waited for the praise.

"Good job McGee." He complimented, patting Tim on the back instead. Tony frowned and stared at McGee like he had just kicked his dog.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Come on let's go before it gets cold. Someone grab Claire, we need her with us." Gibbs instructed, rushing out of the office. Tony quickly called that job and dashed away to find her.

"Where's the child?" Ziva asked looking around as everyone disappeared.

...

Down in the lab Zach was happily slurping down a slushy as he watched Doctor Mallard, with Abby leaning on the table beside him.

"Now keep your eye on the coin." Ducky instructed. Zach watched with interest as Ducky carefully made the large coin disappear.

"Now that my boy is called magic." Ducky grinned. Zach nodded in approval.

"Now a true magician doesn't reveal the mystery of his craft to anyone else but another magician. But would you like to learn?" Ducky asked the boy. Zach didn't say anything but pointed to Ducky's other hand.

"It's in that hand." He informed them. Abby and Ducky looked at him in surprise at how easily he figured it out.

"Isn't it?" Zach asked curiously.

"Oh….so it is." Ducky mused proudly as he playfully made it look like the coin fell out his nose. He handed the coin to Zach who began observing it quietly.

"He's quite observant." Ducky looked at Abby who was grinning.

"Does he remind you of anyone?" she asked knowingly. Ducky chuckled and looked down at Zach who had just performed the trick Ducky had just shown him.

"Oh, very good." Ducky chuckled.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

"Got it boss, black SUV, no rear window." Tony relayed to the rest of the team as he spotted the sedan with his binoculars.

"One visible suspect in the vehicle." He added, spotting the bald man sitting in the passenger seat. He and I were crouched down behind a small car on one side while the other three were making their way to surround the sedan in question.

"Should we take him out?" he asked, as I was ready to go beside him.

"Wait, were almost in position here." Gibbs informed as they were all getting into maneuvering around the garage.

"Copy." Tony muttered as he ducked down behind the car, handing the glasses to me. He shifted to sit comfortably while I watched the sedan.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather be partnered with Ziva, I mean uh the two of you seem to click splendidly on this case." Tony quipped. I turned my eyes towards him in a glare. Ziva and I were the farthest thing at the moment as she insisted Zach's dad abandoned him to turn traitor.

"Shut up Tony." I growled at him before looking back through the binoculars.

"Well we're about to storm this vehicle, who knows what's going to go down. Don't want your head out of the game or anything." Tony pointed out.

"Don't worry Tony, I got your back." I assured him distractedly. Tony chuckled dryly.

"You've got my back…listen lady if anybody is getting anybody's back it's me getting yours." He informed me pointedly. I chuckled lowly and looked at him.

"Is that so?" I asked coyly. Tony grinned his crooked smile up at me.

"Oh most definitely." He agreed cheekily.

"In position boss." McGee muttered over the com, breaking us out of the mood.

"Take him down." Gibbs ordered and we sprang into action. The five of us swiftly closed in on the vehicle from all angles, guns at the ready. When they were situated I walked around and pulled open the passenger door. The limp body fell forward, caught by his seat belt. Spotting the bullet hole in the center of his forehead I dropped my gun to my side. There was nothing worth while here, just another body.

...

Gibbs and I made our way down to Abby's lab.

"Abby?" he called. I noticed that Chip quickly stood at attention, his face newly shaved. When did he shave of his mustache?

"Ballistics lab sir." Chip answered.

"Are you in the military?" Gibbs asked dryly as he continued right past him.

"No sir I just think its…"

"Then stop standing at attention." Gibbs cut him off, entering Abby's work area. I turned awkwardly and mouthed a 'sorry' in Chips direction on Gibb's behalf. I know that none of us were overly thrilled to have an addition to the team but it wasn't Chip's fault.

"What no Zachster?" Abby shouted at us, as she was coming out with her heavy duty earmuffs on. I chuckled in amusement.

"Abby, you're yelling." Gibbs informed her as he signed along.

"Oh, sorry. Where is he?" Abby asked as she set down the ballistics equipment and led us out into the main lab area.

"He's a cool kid, reminds me of you. He's just like a…..mini Gibbs. Austin Powers." Abby informed Gibbs, shooting him a look. Gibbs raised his brows in surprise.

"Are you calling Zach a mini me?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, I am so impressed with your pop culture reference." She complimented proudly.

"Tell me about the weapon." Gibbs redirected, gesturing to the gun in the box on her evidence table.

"I tested the Macrov 380 and it matches the hollow point slugs from the body downstairs. And this bad boy that we pulled from his shoulder matches your sig." she informed him, holding up the bullet cases.

"Any prints on the 380?" I asked.

"Only from the dead guy." She answered easily.

"Tell me you have something else." He asked.

"I have something else." She chirped immediately, turning to face him.

"What?"

"Chip shaved his mustache." She informed, talking about the man that was standing quietly across the table just watching us.

"I didn't notice." Gibbs frowned and walked out of the lab. Of course he didn't. Abby smiled in amusement, while Chip's expression dropped in disbelief.

"He didn't notice?" he asked with a scoff.

"He doesn't notice unimportant things Chip." Abby explained. Chips jaw clenched in offense. Realizing her Abby grimaced awkwardly and picked up the gun from the table.

"Sorry Chip didn't mean it." She explained lightly before darting off, leaving me alone with him. Chip sighed dejectedly.

"I think it looks nice." I quickly complimented.

"Thanks." Chip muttered, staring up at me with a thankful look…..but there was something else lingering behind then with made me uncomfortable. I glanced around one last time before making my exit. Something was just off about that guy and for the life of me I couldn't figure out what.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Commander Wilder, the man McGee, Claire and Tony had met at QNR arrived at NCIS. As McGee went to go tell Gibbs the commander made himself busy putting Zach's things into the boy's backpack while Zach was occupying himself at Gibb's desk.

"Commander Wilder." Gibbs greeted as the two agents strolled in.

"Went by to grab some stuff for him. Your agents wouldn't let me in so I bought him a Nintendo to play with." The commander explained as they saw the stuff and Zach playing on his new game.

"It's the DS x-1 system." McGee mused. Gibbs shot him an interested look at how he knew that. McGee's eyes widened.

"….I've heard." He tacked on evasively. McGee glanced between the two men and quickly shuffled away to his desk.

"It's a hell of a situation. Zach's been through so much in his life already." The commander commented as Gibbs walked him towards the large windows in order to keep the conversation out of Zach's earshot.

"The reason you wanted to see me?" Gibbs asked.

"Commander Tanner is a close friend, I was hoping for information." Wilder explained in concern. Gibbs was silent and gazed out the window.

"Over at QNR they say he's a suspect. Do you know the sacrifices he's made to this country?"

"I do." Gibbs instantly told him, with a hard stare.

"I don't care what the computer log says, Commander Tanner is no traitor. What's it going to take to prove that?" Wilder insisted.

"Finding who is." Gibbs easily explained.

"Then you should be digging into QNR's civilian employees. Because right now they're falling all over themselves trying to protect their collective asses." The man sneered internally. Gibbs didn't say anything but turned to look back at Zach.

"What about Zach? Where's he staying?" the commander asked, glancing back at the boy.

"With Agent Conners. She does a good job." Gibbs informed him.

"I'm the closest thing he has to family, I could take him home with me." Wilder suggested.

"Can't do that he's under protective custody." Gibbs countered.

"You mean they're after Zach too?" the commander asked in surprise.

"We'll take good care of him commander." Gibbs assured. The man clenched his jaw thoughtfully and nodded.

"I'm just gonna say goodbye." He explained and headed back into the cubicles. Gibbs nodded and followed but McGee caught him.

"Boss, so did you tell him we think Tanner's innocent?" McGee asked him.

"We don't know he is." Gibbs quietly pointed out. McGee looked at him skeptically as this had changed from the Gibbs at the beginning of the investigation.

"Do you have something to say McGee?" Gibbs asked, looking at the man intensely as he watched his facial expression. McGee said nothing. Before Gibbs could push for more, Tony and Claire panted as they rushed up to the two of them, holding out an evidence bag in between Gibbs and McGee.

"Been going through the evidence we bagged from the vehicle boss, prepaid burn phone. Guess who's on the caller ID." Tony explained as Gibbs grabbed the bag, turning away from the stare down with McGee.

"Frank Connell, QNR office." Claire answered.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

As I was heading back to the office Tony greeted me as we met along the walkway next to their desks.

"Gibbs got Connell talking yet?" I asked.

"Lawyer won't let him talk so Gibbs is giving him the old 'stare'." Tony told me lowly as we stood face to face, Tony staring down at me. I bit my lip, trying to reign in my smile. I watched as Tony's eyes flickered down to my lips and grinned even more. Before either of us could even think about doing something I caught sight of Ziva coming up to meet us. She scrunched up her face in distaste and brushed past us.

"Gibbs does it much better." She told him, already guessing what he was trying to mimic.

"Bringing an apple for teacher?" Tony teased as we watched Ziva put an apple on McGee's.

"It's for McGee, he's been very generous in helping me adjust to this new city." She explained.

"So you're giving him an apple?" Tony deadpanned as he sat down, opening up a file.

"It's a small gesture." Ziva sighed, sitting back at her own desk.

"Well if you want to thank him why don't you just get him a date." Tony chuckled. I slapped the back of his head as Ziva rolled her eyes.

"Gibbs wants to know if you've got anything he can use on Connell." Tony asked her seriously, changing the subject.

"Frank Connell is a deacon at his church, never at a violation let alone a parking ticket, and he calls his mother every Sunday. The man is spic and spam." She frowned. I pursed my lips and looked up at her.

"The saying is spic and span." I corrected.

"Spam Is lunch meat." Tony added in explanation.

"Oh….then what exactly is span?" she asked, looking at us in confusion as Tony took the file in her hands.

"Span is….." he glanced around in thought. That's a good question…..

"…I'll get back to you on that." He dismissed, walking back to his desk. I shrugged his direction when he shot me a questioning look.

"In my opinion Frank Connell is not involved in this." Ziva told him.

"Well good I'll let Gibbs know right away because he loves to hear our…opinions." Tony mused sarcastically, shooting her a look.

"He's distracted by his affections for Zach. And he's not the only one." Ziva pointed out with a sigh, muttering the last part under her breath. I shot her a glare, knowing full well who she was indicating.

"Gibbs doesn't get distracted. And Claire isn't easily swayed when it comes to the job." Tony bristled.

"What do you call it then?" Ziva asked cooly.

"Boss, moves in mysterious ways. Get this to him." Tony answered and tossed a file onto her desk. She rolled her eyes.

"Why me?" she asked.

"Because we're going to go see your little buddy McGee." Tony answered, swiping the apple off his desk and yanking me along after him.

"Hey put that back!" she called out.

"I'm just bringing it to him." Tony countered innocently with a hidden grin. Once we entered the elevator I waited a few moments before shutting it down. Tony turned to look at me curiously but before he could get a word out I quickly slanted my lips hungrily over his. Tony of course had no objections and wound his arms around my waist, pulling me in closer. After a brief make-out I pulled back for some air.

"What was that for? Not that I'm complaining." He smirked down at me, not releasing me from his hold.

"We were interrupted before I could act on that sexy look you were giving me earlier." I told him with a cheeky grin. Tony chuckled.

"This one?" he asked innocently and stared down at me with the smolder that always weakened my knees. I growled playfully and pecked his lips once more and turning the power on once more.

...

As the elevator stopped down by Abby's lab, I quickly jerked away from the steamy kiss Tony and I were sharing, leaving him blinking owlishly before getting himself together. Now that we were keeping it a secret I enjoyed testing him by doing something seductive before abruptly leaving him high and dry. Sauntering in Tony took another bite out of the apple as he walked into the lab behind me.

"Progress report McGee." Tony asked.

"Uh…. I think that Frank Connell put a trace on Commander Tanner's computer." He explained.

"You think?" I asked, watching as Tony circled around the table where the three of us were standing.

"Well I've got scraps of code, protocol, commands. He might have put the trace in, collected his passwords and stolen the software." McGee listed off as Tony continued munching on the apple.

"Might have and think, are not going to make Gibbs happy." Abby told him, putting air quotes around the words for emphasis.

"Well whoever wiped the files did a really good job because there's nothing left but fragments." McGee countered with a sigh.

"Hey can't Gibbs just break Connell in interrogation?" McGee suggested as we watched Tony continue to circle.

"Not with a 100 dollar an hour defense attorney breathing down his neck. Puts it on you McGee." Tony pointed at him.

"Well nothing I have found contradicts the evidence we have against Commander Tanner." McGee explained solemnly. Tony leaned against the railing in front of us.

"I'm with you Probie but he's feeling really strongly about this one." Tony mused.

"Not you too. I know the evidence is against him but I really don't think Tanner is the culprit here." I protested, glancing between the two of them. No I had no evidence to back up my claims but I could just feel that it wasn't him.

"Did you ever consider the fact that Gibbs may be wrong this time?" McGee asked. Abby gasped and whipped her head around to stare at him incredulously.

"McGee bite your tongue! Gibbs knows what he's doing we just have to show him love." Abby scolded in her own way.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"We show the love Abby, we just don't want the bad guy getting away while were doing it." Tony explained. He glanced over to where Chip was standing and noticed that he had his gaze locked on Claire in a creepy manor. At least he thought it was creepy. As Chip slowly walked over, staring at the woman Tony tossed the apple core into the trashcan across the room. As he did he nearly hit Chip who jumped backwards to dodge it, breaking him out of his stupor. Chip glared at him.

"You almost blocked my shot there Chipper." Tony quipped patronizingly, subtly squaring up to him.

"You ever play ball?" he asked, stalking towards the man.

"College." Chip told him shortly. Tony nodded.

"Yea, me too." Tony chirped, shooting a grin at Claire.

"Tony here ran point for Ohio state." She explained proudly, sidling up next to him. He internally puffed up with pride at Chips frown.

"Which team did you play on?" Tony asked innocently, checking to see if he had any competition.

"We didn't exactly have a conference." Chip dismissed sheepishly. Tony looked at him curiously.

"Division?" he asked instead.

"Not really it was more of a intermural thing." Chip explained nervously. Tony grimaced.

"Skins and mustaches?" he taunted. Tony lifted up an eyebrow triumphantly as Claire snickered quietly following Tony walked out of the room.

"What you got for me?" Abby asked, gesturing towards the papers in Chip's hands. However Chip was busy glaring at Tony's back.

"Chip?" Abby shouted when he didn't answer.

"Um finger print analysis results." Chip answered distractedly. Abby hummed and looked over the paper, Chip leaning over her shoulder. As he did Abby froze at how close he was.

"You're free to go Chip." She dismissed quickly.

"Oh I don't mind staying late ma'am." He countered, still following closely behind her. Chip reached forward to point out something when Abby snapped.

"Go home Chip, please." She told him loudly, her tolerance reaching its limit.

"Is that an order?" he asked.

"Yes, go." Abby insisted. As he walked out Abby groaned in annoyance. McGee glanced back at the door, thinking back to everything that happened. Chip was just odd.

"I don't know how you concentrate around that guy." he muttered.

"I know….no, no, no, no!" Abby shouted as she read over the analysis.

"Noooo. I'm too good at what I do." She mused sadly.

"No you're not?" McGee stated in confusion.

"I am, and Gibbs is gonna hate me for it." Abby sighed.

"What happened?" McGee asked.

"I was following up on the murder weapon, double checking to see if there was anything I missed."

"Was there?"

"Fingerprints." She explained.

"On the gun?" he asked.

"On the rounds in the magazine." Abby corrected.

"Well that's great." McGee told her.

"Most people get obsessed about cleaning the grip and the trigger, they don't think twice about the bullets. Now we've got a partial thumb, fore finger and a perfect index print. " She rambled in despair.

"That's amazing." McGee agreed but paused at her saddened expression.

"So whose are they?" he asked.

"Commander Tanners." She answered quietly.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Zach was back at my house tonight. We laughed as I taught him a new card game which he was picking up quickly, and actually starting to win. We were interrupted by the doorbell and I paused our game to answer it.

"Tony what are you doing here?" I asked with a small smile. I stepped back to let him in the house and he followed quietly. He looked over and spotted Zach waiting quietly for me by the coffee table.

"Hey Zach my man!" Tony greeted but was met with silence once more. I chuckled under my breath.

"Zach why don't you give us a minute, go get yourself a soda or something from the kitchen." I suggested, seeing that Tony was here to talk about something for the case. Zach nodded and dashed deeper into the house.

"So what's up?" I asked him quietly, hoping Zach wouldn't overhear. Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair tiredly.

"We still haven't found anything indicating Tanner's innocence." He explained gently. I groaned.

"There has to be something! This whole thing just doesn't feel right." I muttered pleadingly. Tony nodded but didn't say anything more. He glanced over to where Zach had disappeared to.

"Why is Zach still with you?" he asked not unkindly.

"Well I just figured he needed something steady and in staying with an agent I'm prepped for anything. He's the only connection we have to the commander." I explained, not watching his expression.

"You think he might make an attempt to get Zach back?" Tony pursed his lips.

"If he does I'll be waiting for him." I assured.

"But what if he is the bad guy and comes after you?" Tony whispered seriously.

"My dad didn't do anything wrong." Zach told us sternly. The two of us stood up straight and looked at him sympathetically. I didn't realize he had come back so soon.

"It's a complicated situation." I told him gently.

"It's not." Zach insisted, his eyes filling up with tears.

"Zach, there's evidence that he did something bad." Tony explained to him.

"Doesn't matter, I know in my…..in my stomach he didn't do anything wrong." Zach insisted, his lip trembling but he was trying to keep it in check. He was so much like Gibbs, right down to the gut feelings.

"You promised you'd bring him back to me Claire. Please." Zach pleaded tearfully. I nodded thoughtfully and shot a look at Tony. He swallowed and nodded as well.

"I'll see what I can do." Tony whispered placing a comforting hand on my back before making his way out the door.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The next morning Gibbs strolled into the office later than usual.

"Where's Zach?" McGee asked.

"Ducky's" Gibbs answered shortly. McGee sighed and walked over to his boss.

"Listen, I spent half the night taking Frank Connell's hard drive apart. There's nothing. I think that we need to accept that Commander Tanner sold the software." McGee explained gently. Claire swiftly walked into the room, arms crossed over her chest.

"We're not accepting anything." She quickly countered. McGee licked his lips, not wanting her or Gibbs to base it on their attachment to Zach.

"Boss…" McGee tried again but was cut off.

"We need to look at this a different way." Gibbs insisted.

"I agree." Ziva chimed in as she approached the group.

"I just talked with the CIA. They were very cooperative." She informed them.

"They were?" Claire asked skeptically.

"He owed me a favor." Ziva shrugged dismissively.

"How many people owe you favors?" she asked curiously.

"How many dates does Tony go on in a month?" Ziva quipped.

"Not as much as I would like." Claire muttered under her breath. Meanwhile Ziva walked over to the plasma and pulled up a picture with the remote.

"This is from Kosovo in the late 90's. The man with the shaved head is Benson Basto, the one on the left is Willis Hurst." She pointed out the two men in combat gear along with others.

"They were mercenaries for the Kosovo liberation army." She elaborated as the agents came to stand behind her.

"Freedom Fighters." McGee muttered.

"Not exactly." Ziva chuckled wryly.

"They worked for a war lord as specialists." She hummed.

"What was their specialty?" Tim asked.

"Coercion." Ziva answered.

"Torture." Gibbs elaborated for McGee, who's expression fell.

"But the…the evidence we have against Commander Tanner…"

"This is a covert operation, take nothing at face value." Ziva told him.

"They framed Commander Tanner as a diversion." She explained solemnly, knowing that he had fallen into the trap too.

"Meanwhile they torture him for the access code." Claire whispered worriedly.

"Maybe he won't talk." McGee suggested.

"Have you ever been tortured McGee?" Claire asked him simply, shooting him a look.

"There's only so much torment a human body can bear. Strong men break in a few days but nobody can hold out forever. Not even Gibbs." Ziva explained to him, as McGee remained silent. Gibbs smirked at her last quip.

"With a trained interrogator, it can be done in less time. I can get that code in hours." Ziva told him, confident in her statement. McGee glanced at her nervously.

"They've had him for two days." McGee realized fearfully.

"He's running out of time if he hasn't talked already." Ziva added.

"A few hours huh?" Gibbs mused, brushing past the three of them.

"Give or take." Ziva nodded.

"I'm putting you in a room with Frank Connell, you have 40 minutes." He told her; Ziva surprised at his intentions.

"Hold off on that boss." Tony corrected as he rushed in to join them.

"DiNozzo where have you been?" Gibbs questioned, trailing behind as Tony hightailed it to his desk.

"Tracking down the convenient store where our dead guy purchased his cellphone. Not easy by the way…the language barrier between me and Mr. Singh was no piece of cake either BUT once I convinced him I wasn't going to shut down his convenience store, he gave me the surveillance tapes." During his monologue, Tony was pacing around, dropping off stuff and swiping a muffin from McGee's desk. Gibbs followed behind the man waiting for him to get to the point. Tony popped a bite into his mouth before promptly spitting it back out.

"Tony." Claire scolded.

"is this poppy seed?" he asked McGee, ignoring her disgust.

"Where's the video?" Gibbs asked him sternly.

"With Abby, sorry boss. She's scanning the tapes now." Tony told him and chased after Gibbs who was storming his way there; not before Tony tossed McGee's battered muffin back at him and once again yanking Claire to follow after them.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Down in Abby's lab we watched as she scaned the video tapes. She paused it on the person buying a handful of phones per Gibb's request.

"That woman's got four phones in her hands." Gibbs mused. Tony tilted his head as he stared at the hat covered woman.

"Zoom in Abbs." Abby did as he asked. Tony grinned.

"Oh yea, the lips, the angle of the chin….curve of the neck." Tony trialed off thoughtfully.

"Ok we got it Tony, she's attractive." I told him wryly. Tony chuckled, shooting me a smirk.

"That's Laura Ozgood, Frank Connell's assistant." Tony explained us. With that the three of us dashed off.

...

At QNR the all of us minus Tony walked into the office to find Laura Ozgood shredding papers. It was oddly satisfying to learn she was one of the bad guys. Well at least a legitimate one, since I was cross with her ever since Tony made googly eyes at her. Gibbs walked over and turned it off, causing the woman to stand up and look at us in confusion.

"What's going on?" she asked innocently.

"You purchased phones connected to a robbery, a kidnapping, and a murder." Gibbs told her bluntly. Snooping through her purse Ziva found a burn phone.

"Gibbs, her number matches several calls on the kidnapper's phone." She informed them. Gibbs leaned in to whisper into her ear lowly.

"You're done." He told her.

"The only way to help yourself is to tell us everything you know." Gibbs continued. Laura looked up at him.

"I want a lawyer." She countered with a growl. Ziva pursed her lips knowing what was coming next. The four of us regrouped at the threshold.

"Commader Tanner's been gone for 47 hours." Gibbs muttered under his breath.

"If he's not dead yet, he soon will be." I added.

"Maybe we can convince her to change her mind about the lawyer." McGee suggested.

"Oh I can convince her of far more than that." Ziva mused.

"How long?" Gibbs asked her seriously.

"Not long." She answered.

"Want an extra hand to half that time?" I asked her seriously. If it was going to help get Zach his dad back alive then I couldn't care less about how sketchy our methods were. Ziva nodded appreciatively. Gibbs nodded and quirked his lips, heading to the hallway.

"McGee you thirsty?" Gibbs asked casually. McGee stared at him with wide eyes.

"Come on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee." Gibbs waved for him to follow. McGee trailed after him, glancing back at Ziva and I as she shut the door behind them and locked it. Laura stared at us with wide and scared eyes while Ziva and I smirked menacingly back at her. This was going to have to be quick.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

McGee and Gibbs waited patiently in the lobby, coffees in hand. After a few minutes of nervous figetinig McGee looked over at his boss.

"Boss, what exactly are they doing in there?" he asked after moments of hard thought. Gibbs shot him a look.

"I don't wanna know?" McGee guessed nervously. Gibbs shook his head in agreement.

"Ok." he muttered. After a few moments of silence Claire called them back in.

...

As Ziva slowly opened the blinds back up Laura began explaining everything to them tearfully and looking thoroughly exhausted.

"It was a three-man team, I was on the inside. I put a trace on Commander Tanner's computer to get his passwords. I planted to virus using his login." She explained quietly.

"Keep going Laura." Claire prodded from behind her.

"Bestow and Hurst grabbed Commander Tanner to get the access codes." She answered.

"Who set it up?" McGee asked.

"I don't know, we were contacted separately." She explained.

"The money was wired, emailed instructions on an anonymous server." She added weepy.

"Where is he?" Gibbs asked. She sniffled but didn't answer. Ziva leaned down close her to her, making her flinch violently.

"Commander Tanner. Where is he being tortured?" Ziva asked her lowly.

"That wasn't part of my assignment." Laura countered, shooting Ziva a glare. Laura sobbed again.

"Please, don't kill me." She begged. Ziva lightly trailed a finger by her neck, causing Laura to flinch once more.

"In a garage, near Coleman park." She told them, ducking her head and letting out more tears as the other two women walked back over towards their teammates. Gibbs and McGee each held up an extra coffee cup and they eagerly took it as they skirted around them.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

When we got the Commander he told us he had given up the key because they had proof that they had Zach. Zach's iPod was lying on the table and Gibbs remembered when Commander Wilder stopped by to 'drop off' things for Zach. As it turned out it was him who orchestrated the while scheme. While Tony and Ziva escorted Tanner to the hospital the rest of us went back to NCIS to wait with Zach. I watched from Tony's desk as Zach stared out the windows, a coffee cup in hand. However, his was full of milk instead of coffee. Gibbs approached the little boy, holding a cup of his own. The two took a sip at the same time as they gazed out the window. It was amusing and freaky to see how similar the two of them were.

"You ok?" Gibbs asked, nudging him gently.

"I guess…..Commander Wilder was my dad's…" he trailed off with a sigh.

"He was my friend Gibbs." Zach corrected sadly. He sighed again and slumped against the window.

"I should have known. I shouldn't have let him fool me like that." He shook his head. Gibbs knelt down beside him.

"Zach sometimes really bad people are good at fooling you." Gibbs explained to him gently.

"Anybody bad ever fool you?" Zach asked him.

"Oh yea, more than once." Gibbs answered, wiping off the milk mustache that was on Zach's lip.

"Someday I'm gonna find them and put them all in jail." Zach insisted thoughtfully.

"I believe you will." Gibbs smiled. _You go little dude._

"Zach!" Commander Tanner called as they arrived up on the elevator. Zach's face lit up instantly.

"Dad! Daddy! Dad!" Zach cheered as he raced towards his father. The commander knelt down, despite his multiple bandages and his broken arm and embraced his son who latched onto his neck.

"I knew you'd never leave me." Zach mumbled into his neck. Gibbs leaned down to pick up Zach's dropped cup as the two muttered assurances to one another. I smiled softly at the scene. It was always nice to have happy endings to cases like these.

...

After the Tanner's had been taken care of Tony wandered over towards his desk, where I was waiting patiently for him so we could head off. As he gathered his stuff Ziva approached.

"Claire how would you feel if we…..went out….as a girls thing….one weekend soon?" she asked a bit awkwardly. My eyebrows shot up for a moment but I grinned in response.

"Yea, sure. We can look for one weekend we have off." I assured easily. Ziva nodded before bidding the boys goodnight. Tearing my eyes from her retreating form I was met with baffled stares from Tony and McGee.

"What?" I asked them in confusion.

"Since when are you and the assassin all buddy buddy?" Tony asked incredulously. I just shrugged. Tony chuckled.

"Don't tell me you two bonded over torturing someone…." He trailed off with a chuckle, but it dropped as he noticed I wasn't laughing along with him.

"What if I told you that we kinda did?" I winced.

"Well that doesn't sound very out of character for Ziva." McGee mused. This caused a giggle to escape me and I stood up to leave. Bidding them goodnight I headed for the elevator I smiled lightly as Tony shot in just before the doors closed. Staring up at the ceiling we were quiet for a moment as it descended.

"So you gonna tell me what it was you two did in there with Ms. Ozgood?" he asked innocently. I smirked.

"Only if I have to punish you." I told him cheekily, sending him a sultry side glance. Tony chuckled in anticipation.

"I would love that." He quipped easily. The two of us stared at one another in amusement before bursting into laughter.


	44. Chapter 44

[Frame Up: 1]

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Ziva was at her desk reading a book titled 'American slang' to help with correcting her usage of the American sayings, which I found highly amusing. McGee and I were sitting peacefully at our desks. Then there was Tony….

"Ohhhh yea baby." Tony purred as he played some game at his desk... if the noises were anything to go by.

"Oh, come on…" he groaned happily with a chuckle as the computer continued to make beeping noises. _I have heard those responses from him before…and they had nothing to do with video games._ I watched as Ziva rolled her eyes and McGee looked over at him in annoyance as the noises from both the computer and the man continued. We all stared as he started making mewing noises in a rhythm and when a buzzer sounded he winced.

"I'm trying to concentrate." Ziva growled through her teeth.

"That makes two of us then doesn't it, Zi-Vah." He countered, not taking his eyes away from the screen and putting emphasis on the back half of her name childishly.

"Is this work related?" I asked dryly. Tony quirked an eyebrow.

"Of course its work related…Claire." He answered in an upbeat tone. McGee slowly walked over to watch Tony's screen once he was distracted.

"Judge my ." McGee read off. This time my eyebrows shot up and Tony immediately started, grabbing a magazine to slap over the screen frantically.

"Hey!" he shouted at the Tim defensively.

"I thought we were working on this Tony." I scolded him, with an pointed undertone. Tony smiled sheepishly at me.

"Old habits die hard." He muttered before shooting a glare at McGee.

"A little privacy over here Probie." he scolded. McGee rolled his eyes and as he walked back to his desk at a painfully slow pace. During this he made a show as he lifted up his suit jacket to show off his tush. Ziva leaned forward examining it; playing along.

"I give it a 4." She told him. McGee dropped his jacket and whipped with an insulted look.

"Are you kidding me?! 4?" he asked her defensively.

"Out of 5 I think that's good….isn't it?" she explained, waving her hands in question. I grinned in amusement as McGee puffed up in pride.

"Out of 5." He murmured tauntingly, pointing at her in approval. Ziva nodded and shot a point back at him. Tony leaned against his desk, putting out his butt and running a hand along it as he looked in the computer monitor reflection. I looked over at him and couldn't hold by my chuckle at how ridiculous he looked.

"Come on." Tony coaxed as he wiggled it around, grinning over his shoulder at me.

"No I will not get involved with this…"

"Come on, come on." Tony continued chanting as he paraded it around. I bit my lip in amusement.

"But Gibbs seems to always be around the corner I'm not…."

"Give it a little look see. Give it a little something." He chirped relentlessly. I began laughing again at his persistence. However there was a plus side to all of this…..I could stare at his ass without questioning from the others.

"No…no!" I stubbornly protested, not wanting Gibbs to walk in on me comment. That would be so embarrassing.

"Come on!" he slapped his butt.

"What do you think, rate it." He taunted with a devilish grin. I licked my lips and sighed, knowing he wasn't going to drop it until I rated it.

"Fine…..a 2." I told him decisively. Tony's smolder dropped as he gaped at me.

"A 2?" he asked in confusion and glanced at McGee who laughed triumphantly.

"2?!" he waved his hands around in disbelief. Ziva said nothing and went back to her book, hiding her smile behind it. I grinned at him coyly as he scoffed, clearly offended that I thought so little of it.

"What's a 2 DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked causally as he strode into the office.

"I was just explaining the rules to Ziva boss." Tony coolly explained.

"And number two is what?" Gibbs asked, rifling through his desk drawers. Tony froze as he desperately tried to remember. Ziva looked to him in amusement.

"You know I'm always a little fuzzy on 2." Tony admitted.

"Grab your gear, we're going to Quantico." Gibbs ordered instead. We all grabbed their bags quickly and started after him. However Tony quickly got his and stood directly in my exit as my back was turned. So as I spun around to leave I yelped in surprise when I nearly ran him over.

"Two?" he glared at me. I grinned at how seriously he was bothered by this.

"I thought you liked my tush?" he inquired seriously. I giggled and pulled him close to me by the lapels, once I saw that the team was already heading down the elevator.

"Of course I do." I told him quietly, my mouth hovering over his. Tony glanced down at my lips but quickly looked back up at my eyes and frowned.

"Then why a 2?" he asked curiously.

"I took 3 points off for excessive hair." I quipped, looking him up and down seductively.

"I don't have.." he scoffed nervously but paused at my knowing grin.

"That's a 5." He realized. I giggled at his sudden mood change.

"If you shave." I joked and smacked him on the butt playfully. Hearing this new revelation Tony swelled up in pride once more. I walked ahead of him and could practically feel his eyes as he smirked, staring down at my butt as I walked away from him. Pausing I turned to grin at him and Tony quickly dashed after me into the elevator. Standing along the wall we waited until the doors closed before speaking.

"What would you rate mine as?" I questioned curiously. Tony let out a low whistle.

"Out of 5?...a 10." He told me smugly. I chuckled and shook my head.

"You're trying to sweet talk me for tonight aren't you?" I mused knowingly.

"That depends…..is it working?" he asked, shooting me a crooked grin. I hummed in contemplation.

"We'll see." I told him vaguely.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In the woods around Quantico the man who found the body was leading the investigators.

"Marines run tacticals through these woods every day sir." He explained to Gibbs.

"What time yesterday?" he asked.

"1900." The man answered as they trekked on. Behind them Tony was carrying a gurney for Dr. Mallard.

"Ducky where's Jimmy?" Tony asked noticing the lack of a person.

"Having a root canal." Ducky answered. As they reached a low hanging branch Tony stared at it, knowing he couldn't use his hands to push it aside. Claire quickly walked in front of him and held it back with a grin.

"Age before beauty." She quipped, bowing deeply. Tony grinned at her as he passed.

"Funny." He muttered with a playfull glare as the two continued on ahead. Soon after, the other three made it to the same low hanging branch.

"Allow me." Ducky muttered, holding back a branch back for Ziva who smiled thankfully.

"Thank you." As the two continued, Ducky let the branch fall to swat McGee in the face. He frowned and yanked the branch down.

"Thank you." He grumbled sarcastically. Ducky continued to help Ziva in little ways as the trip continued. When they reached a river, the marine led them across a stone pathway. Tony in the lead, carrying the gurney, Claire following and Ziva and Ducky close behind them.

"Oh, allow me." Ducky held out a hand for her but Ziva retracted her own before he could grasp it.

"No, no no. its lovely that chivalry is not dead doctor but in Israel I swam 3 miles across the rea sea after scaling rough cliffs without safety lines." She explained to him politely. Ziva was fiercely independent and wasn't too keen on having someone help her every step of the way with small tasks, even though she knew his heart was in the right place.

"I believe I can manage." She patted his cheeks fondly before starting across the rocks. Almost instantly Ziva miss-stepped and reeled back, taking Ducky down with her into the river below.

"How refreshing, an independent woman." Ducky quipped with a laugh. Ziva smiled and began laughing along with him.

...

As they reached the site, two separated female legs were just beyond a bush where they were originally discovered but now marked with numbered flags.

"They were under this bush here until I uh…moved one to here." The marine explained to the team. Gibbs began taking photos with the digital camera they brought.

"The teenagers?" he asked, referring to the group of teens making out that the marines had broken up just before the discovery.

"Said they never noticed the legs." He answered.

"Tony, shoot. Ziva and Claire, bag and tag. McGee, samples." Gibbs listed off, each member getting to work.

"Well I'm afraid a liver temp is out of the question." Ducky joked dryly as they knelt down beside the legs.

"Talk to me Duck." Gibbs told him.

"It's very strange. The marbling on the skin indicates advanced decomposition but the complete lack of insect activity along the moist area of the inner thigh indicated the lack of decomposition." Ducky explained in puzzlement.

"Any idea how long?" Gibbs asked him.

"Well the muscles have gone through all 3 stages of rigormortis which means at least 48 hours….Jethro the leg is in pristine condition. Apparently untouched by air, water, soil, or insects." Ducky exasperated.

"Frozen?" Gibbs suggested. Ducky shook his head.

"No ice crystals." He countered.

"Basement?" Gibbs threw out.

"Well if that's the case we are dealing with a dark soul." Ducky mused morbidly.

"One who kills, cuts, and keeps." Ducky added. Gibbs looked up at him in surprise at the indications.

...

Off to the side Tony flashed pictures of the plastics Ziva was picking at. She shot him a glare as he just smiled indifferently at her.

"That's trash." He told her smugly.

"I think I know what I'm doing by now." Ziva countered pointedly.

"Well MRA's and paint pellets say 'training area' to me." Tony mused as he looked down at the objects below them.

"Has no one ever been killed during training." She asked in irritation.

"You know my forensic instructor back at FLET-C planted a uh pregnancy test at a crime scene to test us." McGee commented thoughtfully as he and Claire joined the group. They all stared at him in confusion as to what that had to do with anything.

"That's nice Probie, but in my years as an investigator, I've learned that trash indigenous to an area is not worth collecting." Tony mused, shooting Ziva a smug look.

"What if because I had not bagged and tagged this trash, I happened to miss this." She hypothesized smugly, holding up a piece of what seemed to be a surgical glove.

"The finger of a rubber glove." She explained. Tony frowned and took a picture sneakily, letting the flash blind Ziva for a second. She shot him a glare.

"I didn't say look under indigenous stuff." Tony countered lamely. She opened her mouth but didn't comment.

"I think we're almost done here Gibbs." She told the man who had walked over to join them.

"Oh I don't think so. I want every paper, projectile, and stomped on leaf within a 10 foot radius of both legs." Gibbs told them and walked away. Tony sighed and glared at Ziva from under his hat. Ziva giggled at his expression.

...

Back in autopsy Jimmy was grinning at the legs on the table as he peered at them.

"I'll bet Tony made some unseemly comments about these legs, didn't he?" he grinned knowingly.

"Why would he do that Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked distractedly as he worked.

"Well I just mean…..knowing Tony….he uh…they're fairly shapely legs doctor." Palmer eventually pointed out, deciding to be blunt about it.

"Yes, nobody had such a bad taste to verbalize such a thought. Until now." Ducky quipped dryly. Jimmy nodded, knowing he deserved that.

"But now that you mention it, they do look impeccably similar to Betty Grable's?" Ducky mused, taking a sample of tissue. Gibbs chose this moment to walk in. Jimmy shook his head, not knowing who that was.

"One of the all time pinup gals of the 40's." Gibbs mused as he went to stand in front of Ducky.

"Oh she had great gams." Ducky mused. Jimmy was baffled again.

"Gams?" he asked in confusion.

"Aren't you a little young to remember Betty Grable, Jethro?" Ducky inquired, ignoring his assistant.

"Dad had her painted on the nose of his P51, Duck." Gibbs explained, as he went back to looking over the legs.

"A p51..what.."

"Up to Abby. As quick as you can." Ducky cut Mr. Palmer off once more, handing him a sample.

"Yes, doctor." he nodded and scurried out of the lab.

"What do we know about our Jane Doe?" Gibbs asked him.

"She was young, look at the femur here." Ducky led him over to the x-rays.

"One of the last bones in the body to develop fully. In the female, fusion is complete around age 25. I say our victim was between 19 and 21." Ducky suggested.

"ID?" Gibbs asked.

"Without a toeprint database, I'm afraid we'll have to rely on good ole DNA." Ducky quipped solemnly.

"What about this splotch on her calf, Duck?" Gibbs asked, looking down at the red mark.

"Blood. I'd say the assailant's. I've sent it on its way to Abby's mass spectrometer." Ducky explained.

"Could it be hers" Gibbs asked as he stared down at the legs curiously.

"It could be, but she was dead long before she was dissected." Ducky countered.

"Blood was no longer pumping through her veins when, what I would guess, the surgical saw cut her thighs from her torso." Ducky elaborated gesturing to the clean cuts on the decapitated limbs.

"And see how my glove sticks here? That's also headed up to the mass spectrometer." Ducky added, pointing out the sticky substance on the inner calf of the legs.

"And take a look at this." Ducky leaned over and pointed to a patch on her inner thigh.

"Skins been removed." Gibbs murmured, noticing how there was a chunk taken out of her leg.

"Yes, a meticulously cut circle." Ducky added pointedly, noting the significance.

"Strange keepsake?" Gibbs asked.

"Actually, I think it was the killer trying to remove his marks." Dr. Mallard countered.

"Like all sex killers after Bundy?" Gibbs mused, understanding the thought behind it.

"Yes, after Theodore Bundy was identified in court by his crooked lower teeth sexual biters have been forced to excise their evidence." Ducky added knowingly.

"You know I think I might be able to get an impression of teeth from the underlying damage of tissue." Ducky muttered thoughtfully.

"You could get me a bite mark?" Gibbs asked hopefully. Ducky shrugged.

"I could try." He answered. The two men smiled.

...

Outside Abby's lab Jimmy jumped as he nearly ran into Chip at the elevator.

"I have some samples for Abby." He explained in a chipper tone but Chip didn't budge and continued staring the other man down.

"Well that's convenient because I'm Abby's assistant." Chip countered eagerly.

"Well I just want to say 'hi' I haven't seen her in a while." Palmer continued as he tried to get around Chip.

"She's really busy right now." Chip immediately protested.

"This will just take a minute." Jimmy told him, staring at him in confusion. Chip took the file to sign off and samples from him.

"You haven't been an assistant very long have you." Chip quipped with a sigh. Jimmy stared at him incredulously.

"Longer than you." He pointed out defensively.

"We'll see about that." Chip told him lowly.

"That doesn't make any sense Chip." Palmer retorted in bewilderment. Chip looked up at him with almost crazy eyes.

"It's Charles!" he spat at Jimmy, pushing the folder back into his face as he ushered him back into the elevator.

"Charles." He growled again as the doors closed.

...

Back in the lab.

"It's an evidence showcase showdown Chip." Abby chirped as she made her way out to her main lab, unaware of what just happened a few moments ago.

"What do you prefer. Possible prints, sticky stuff, or name that blood?" she chanted in a show host type voice as she set out the evidence bags on the table.

"Um well…I aced virology and I was pretty good a finger printing identification so…" Chip droned, falling back into his typical Chip style of boorish rambling. Abby looked up at the ceiling and handed him a bag.

"Just say sticky stuff for 100, Chip." She told him tiredly, just wanting him to play along. Chip frowned but said nothing.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

Claire and I were busy making phone calls as Ziva and McGee were over….doing something. She was standing behind him, reading off numbers as McTyper typed away at his computer.

"For a Caucasian female, a factor of 2.90 is multiplied by the tibia length." Ziva read off from behind McGee who was manning the computer.

"Ok autopsy report says the tibia is 38.34 centimeters." McGee mumbled.

"What are you doing?" I asked, staring over at them curiously.

"We are calculating our Jane Doe's probable height and weight." he explained distractedly. I frowned. Why were they making all this complicated.

"Why didn't you ask me?" I suggested easily.

"Tony, these are complex equations we're dealing with." Ziva dismissed condescendingly.

"Whatever, she's like 5'8" so she's 120-126 pounds." I answered easily before getting back to my phone call. McGee stared at me as if I had grown a second head as Ziva scoffed. Shaking off the idea McGee got back to work. I shot Claire a knowing look and she smirked. _My beautiful live in model of the general proportions of this Jane Doe. If the look of our mystery woman's legs are anything to go by._ Continuing on, the two finished listing off measurements to put into the equations. As McGee pushed enter the two froze at the readings from the equations.

"5'8" " Ziva droned in shock.

"125.5 lbs." McGee added in the same tone. They both slowly turned to stare at me who nodded with a smile.

"How could you possibly know that just by her legs?" McGee asked in shock.

"Well I am….." I choked on my sentence… _currently dating someone of that height so I know very well all the dimensions associated with the type. Yea that would go over well._ I looked over at Claire for a split second, taking in her widened eyes. Thinking fast, I rethought my sentence.

"…..familiar with the type." I told them instead, smiling to keep up the façade. Ziva rolled her eyes, taking it the way I had intended. I let out a breath I had apparently been holding and glanced over at Claire once they were distracted. She let out a nervous breath too. _Phew…..dodged that bullet._

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Down in Abby's lab Chip was mumbling and groaning incoherently as he looked over the evidence behind us. With all the different types of evidence to be analyzed on the legs, I volunteered to head down and help out in any way I could. Plus I needed some girl time with Abby, so it's a win-win for us. As the man continued griping Abby grimaced, trying to concentrate while he continued. He had still been a bit odd recently but I couldn't figure out why. It's not like he opened up to us anyway.

"You're grumbling." Abby pointed out irritably.

"Yea, well I know I can't read Ziva's writing." Chip explained as he moaned in frustration again. Abby promptly turned around and snatched the bag out of his hands. I looked over her shoulder at the writing on the front of it. _If I could read Tony's writing then everything else is easy._

"It looks perfectly clear to me." She told him, handing it back. Abby placed her hands on her hips as he frowned.

"You've got to loosen up chip." I scolded, landing a punch on his shoulder. He stared at me like she was crazy.

"Evidence is fun." Abby added with a grin. Chip continued staring at us curiously.

"Fun…you know fun? Fun Chip!" She cheered as she jumped and spun around, my laughing off to the side. Chip continued staring silently. We sighed, not getting anywhere with him.

"You're a tough case Chip." I pointed at him, pursing my lips in thought.

"Yea I know." He sighed. I reached over to pat his shoulder. Chip almost instantly looked over at me with that look….the one I could never quite decipher. Before I could asked about it Abby gasped happily, spotting Gibbs walk through the doors with her treat.

"Gibbs! All this evidence and a Caf-pow. Is it my birthday?" she joked.

"Pretend it's mine." He told her. Abby nodded.

"Ok, here's what we have for you." She chirped, returning to her computers.

"The blood on the calf is different from the victim's I sent both off for processing. But here's your real gift. I found a smudged print on the tip of the glove finger and clarified it to get a full print, happy birthday." She told him proudly.

"Did you get a match?" Gibbs asked.

"It's running through AFIS now." I told him. Just as he stood by the big screen a match flashed onto the screen. As the picture came up Gibbs turned to look at us in surprise. My stomach lept up into my throat as I stared at the familiar face in utter confusion.

"Whoa." Abby muttered as we stared at the picture of Tony DiNozzo.

...

Soon after this interesting development we called the rest of the team down to the lab. Currently Tony stood in the front of the group beside Gibbs, staring at the screen in confusion as it continued to flash his name.

"I must have ripped a glove at the scene boss." He murmured as a suggestion. With that Abby and Chip quickly emptied out the box filled with the trash we had discarded from the search of the crime scene. The rest of us gathered around and watched as she quickly lined up all the gloves that were used, searching for a missing finger on one of them. Tony stood next to me and shot me a comforting smile to help ease my nerves. I sent a stiff one back. This whole situation just didn't sit right. Something like this could get Tony a a heap of trouble. Seeing that all the gloves were in tact, Abby crossed her arms and looked sideways at Tony who frowned and pointed a finger thoughtfully.

"Like I was saying I must have ripped a glove at the crime scene sometime before yesterday." he chuckled jokingly. I couldn't help but frown in concern.

"When was the last time you worked a crime scene at Quantico?" Gibbs asked him, walking away from the big screen.

"The Napolitano case, boss." Tony answered honestly. Abby sighed with a worried frown and looked over the print again on her computer.

"The computer only matched 3 points from your print to that of the sample. Most prosecutors want 11." she explained helpfully.

"Technically Abby, the minimum to go to court is one." Chip chimed in. Tony, Gibbs, Abby and I turned to stare at him warningly. Chip shot a glance at me and flinched away from my glare.

"Um…..I'm just saying….people have been convicted on less." He sheepishly explained, making his way around the table.

"That's great Chipper…team player." Tony spat out sarcastically, staring at him with wide eyes. How could he be saying stuff like that?! Chip sighed but said nothing.

"I'm going to redo this, by hand." Abby told us, getting to work on her computer. As she worked Tony looked over in Chip's direction curiously before pointing a finger at him.

"You set this up….didn't you." He accused mildly.

"I would never." Ziva dismissed as she was standing behind Chip, and the real accused. I caught Chip sag in almost relief before he schooled his expressions back to normal. I frowned, finding his reaction curious. Not catching what I did, Tony gave Ziva a knowing look.

"Ok maybe I would but…..I didn't." she told him quietly to show she was serious. After a few moments Abby groaned in frustration.

"It matches Tony." She told us, staring at the results. Tony frowned.

"Put a rush on those blood samples." Gibbs suggested.

"I did but it's a 16 hour turnover." She explained.

"Make it 12." Gibbs told her and walked over to stand behind Tony who was back staring at the big screen, thoroughly confused.

"When's the last time you were at the dentist?" Gibbs asked him randomly. Tony's brows furrowed and he glanced to me questioningly. I shrugged.

...

Ducky was in the lab as Tony was whining and struggling against the mold Ducky was placing into his mouth. He continued mumbling, his mouth full of the substance. I chuckled at his childishness.

"Hold still." Ducky scolded calmly.

"Coon't yooo haaaa uuuued my een-al ray-corss?" Tony mumbled incoherently.

"This is far faster and more accurate than your x-rays." I explained to him, somehow able to understand his garbled speech. Gibbs smirked in amusement as he watched. After a moment Ducky tugged on the mold and Tony's eyes widened in alarm as it jerked his head along with it, signifying that it was stuck. I laughed and gently pressed a finger against his forehead to keep it still as Ducky pried the mold out of his mouth.

"Yoooo not known for your be-side manna, are you doc?" Tony mumbled, his mouth wide open as he tried to move his jaw that was sedentary for so long. I rolled my eyes and Tony shot me a grin, causing me to smile more.

"You're just upset that he didn't have peppermint." I quipped as Ducky examined the mold. Tony pursed his lips as he ran his tongue over his front teeth.

"McGee?" Ducky called. Tim was handed the teeth mold from Ducky and walked it over to one of Abby's machines. Placing it under a glass case a scanner ran over it, transferring it into a digital model on the computer.

"Heeeeerrree's Tony." Abby announced.

"This program scans 3-D objects to produce 3-D images from comparison." Abby explained as we watched on the screen. Tony was sitting before the big screen staring owlishly at the mold of his teeth appearing on the screen.

"Computer generated holographic overlay measures inner-tooth spacing, dental arc, tooth thickness…"

"Alright enough with the geek speak." Tony shot him an annoyed frown. I subtly grabbed his hand in comfort. He was getting nervous like he should but he didn't need to be snapping at Chip. Tony didn't look over at me but he squeezed my hand in return before intertwining our fingers. We all watched in anticipation as Abby pulled up more files on the screen.

"Here's Ducky's muscle tissue scan." She mused as the picture of the bite wound appeared.

"A little 3-D magic for clarity, and I give you the killer's incisors." She continued as she worked her magic on the photo.

"And don't worry Tony, the chances of even one of your teeth matching are like….100,000 to 1." Abby assured. Tony nodded.

"Do it Abby." Gibbs instructed. We all watched as 'Tony's' teeth were placed over the bite marks on the woman's leg. I could feel my heart dropping as I watched the word 'match' flash over every single mark on the bite. All of his teeth were matching the wound perfectly. Biting back a gasp I glanced over and spied Tony staring at the screen in horror. We were in big trouble.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The team minus Tony walked out of one of the upper meeting rooms in the NCIS office.

"Still waiting on Jane Doe's DNA." Abby began as she opened the door for all of them.

"Commander at Quantico said there were no missing female lieutenants for marines." McGee added.

"What about the base hospital?" Gibbs suggested.

"I checked missing persons from Maryland, Virginia and DC. There were few matching the description. Their DNA is headed over now." Claire told him as they made their way swiftly down the stairs. A balding man met Gibbs at the bottom.

"David Bran." Gibbs greeted in surprise.

"Gibbs." The man nodded and fell into step with him.

"I thought you were quitting." Gibbs mused.

"I like to think of it as a lateral move into the recreation sector." Bran quipped.

"I wish you luck with that." Gibbs smirked, breaking away from the man as he continued into the bullpen.

"Lateral move into the recreational sector?" Ziva asked in confusion.

"Well Ziva, that mostly means fishing and hitting a golf ball." He explained setting down in his chair.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs called, spotting the man writing frantically at his desk.

"Yea boss." He answered distractedly.

"What are you doing?" Gibbs asked him.

"Somebody's setting me up." He commented, looking up at Gibbs.

"Two surgically removed legs dumped into a training area…..do ya think?" he asked sarcastically. Tony blinked at him.

"Well yea…..I was trying to think of arrestees with grudges." Tony explained.

"Wouldn't they all have grudges?" Claire deadpanned.

"You see my dilemma." Tony sighed.

"Mike Macoluso?" McGee asked, reading over his shoulder.

"Mafia boss DiNozzo busted in Baltimore." Gibbs answered for him.

"They get a little touchy when they think of you as family and you turn out to be a cop." Tony joked tilting his head.

"What about that forensics dweeb that you got fired?" Abby imputed. Ziva and Claire frowned in confusion.

"I didn't arrest him Abby." Tony answered pointedly.

"Yea but you really really really pissed him off." She countered knowingly. Tony stuck his tongue into his cheek.

"Forensic tech set a killer free when he contaminated some blood samples, Tony reported him." McGee explained for Ziva's sake.

"Good ole George Stewart." Tony mused as he wrote down the new name.

"You know maybe you should expand the list. Just to include people that hate you." Claire suggested, standing up and making her way to join the others by his desk. Tony glared ahead.

"Hate me? Nobody hates me." He dismissed, not making eye contact at the lie.

"Well there's Paula Cassidy." she countered. Tony whipped around to stare at her warningly.

"Don't go there." He warned lowly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." She apologized, momentarily forgetting about how touchy he was about all that.

"People like me, I'm a nice guy." Tony insisted.

"What about the woman who posted your picture on the herpes alert website?" McGee taunted. Claire snorted as Tony stiffed in realization.

"Lieutenant Pam Kim." Tony named with wide eyes.

"She so went fatal attraction on you." Abby added.

"That wasn't funny." Tony muttered.

"Oh what about Mrs. D?" Claire added. Tony pursed his lips, tapping them with his pencil.

"Another girlfriend?" Ziva asked incredulously.

"Uh no she threatened to cut off his…" she coughed, while McGee wiggled a finger instead of saying it. Tony bit his lip in a smirk as Claire flustered.

"…when Tony put her husband away for murdering his first wife." Claire easily explained, keeping her composure.

"Speaking about wives, what about your ex-girlfriend….Monica?" Ziva suggested, leaning on her desktop.

"Well I always break up with them when I find out they're married, Ziva." He spat her name dramatically in defense. McGee and Abby began reaching down to read more of the names when Tony held his hand up.

"Ok, thank you all I think that's enough." Tony announced irritably. Ziva gasped and pointed at him.

"The personnel in the evidence garage." She suggested eagerly.

"What about them?" Tony questioned.

"They hate you." She explained in a 'duh' tone. Tony scoffed and bounced his head dismissively.

"She's right, you never wait your turn to check in evidence." McGee agreed.

"And women don't appreciate being called…..baggie bunnies." Claire whispered pointedly as she stood across from him at his desk. Tony rose his brows and smirked. Before he could say anything Gibbs cut in.

"Alright DiNozzo. Eight years and two different forces." Gibbs told him as he set down a couple folders onto his desk.

"Well that's a lot of names to remember boss." Tony sighed.

"Ziva take the women. McGee, you take the men. I'll pull case files of the ones DiNozzo put away who aren't on the list." Gibbs listed off. Ziva pat Tony's head as he buried his face into his hands.

"Wait a minute you never do anything." Tony scoffed as he glanced at Gibbs who reached over and smacked the back of his head.

"…because you're such a good delegator." Tony amended.

"Oh….this is not good." Abby muttered warningly as she stared at the man coming from the elevator. Tony frowned but when he saw Fornell his expression dropped into a nervous one.

"Gibbs, DiNutso. This is Special Agent Sacks." Fornell introduced the black man standing behind him. They all glanced around at one another quietly. Gibbs stood up and gestured for Fornell to follow him and the two left.

"He's being framed." Gibbs muttered as they stood next to the windows, backs facing the agents.

"I believe you." Fornell agreed easily.

"I've been there myself Jethro. I'll take care of him." he assured Gibbs.

"I know, but I want to be kept in the loop." Gibbs requested.

"You saying you don't trust me?" Fornell asked, not being serious.

"Whoever set this up Tobias is a pro. If this were to go to court right now, DiNozzo would not stand a chance." Gibbs explained worriedly. Fornel nodded.

"Well I've got to take him into custody for questioning." He explained. Gibbs stared down at him with a knowing grin.

"Or….I guess…..we could question him here." Fornel suggested. Gibbs nodded in amusement before walking back to his team.

"Fornell is going to question you." Gibbs informed Tony.

"You mean interrogate me." Tony countered, standing up.

"I mean question you. Draw it out." Gibbs whispered the last part under his breath. Tony nodded and straightened up in understanding.

"After we talk to Agent DiNozzo we will have to requisition any evidence in the case." Sacks piped up, staring icily at Tony. Tony and Gibbs shared a knowing look and he quietly followed Sacks and Fornell towards interrogation. He set a hand on Claire's bicep as he passed by, getting her to loosen up as she was holding herself nervously. Claire smiled lightly at him.

...

The second the three of them were around the corner Gibbs turned to his team.

"Are we covered on evidence?" he asked them quickly.

"It'll take a few hours to copy the data from Tony's hardrive…" McGee began as he rushed to Tony's computer.

"I'll make duplicates of all this." Abby informed, rushing towards her lab.

"I go get Ducky do the same." Claire added as she rushed off after her.

"What can I do?" Ziva asked anxiously.

"Help. Help, Abby. Help McGee. Help Ducky. Help Claire." Gibbs told her, gesturing to the directions she could go. Ziva shook her head in frustration. She sat down at her desk and shook her head, for once unsure of what to do.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

In interrogation, this Sacks dude was staring at me from across the desk. It was weird being on the other end of this conversation for once. _Stall, Gibbs said to stall so I should have fun with this one._

"Where were you Tuesday night between 0900 and 0300 the next morning?" Sacks asked with a stern glare. I licked my lips and stared up at the ceiling, humming in deep thought. _I had a laid back date night with Claire. Not hard to forget about that one._

"Umm..." I had my face scrunching up obnoxiously as I killed time.

"Would that be Zulu time?" I asked curiously. Sacks stared at me bewildered. _This is obviously his first time working with NCIS. My charms in tense situations are infamous._

"Just run through your night." He sighed, shaking his head.

"Ok…" I nodded and stared upwards again, nodding my head as I ran through it. _Claire and I finished work, went for a run together. Man those running leggings were hot. She must have done it on purpose too, knowing that she was much faster than I was so I could just stare at her._ As I reminisced in my head silently, I let out a couple smirks and huffs of amusement. Sacks closed his eyes in annoyance.

"Oh, out loud?" I 'realized'. I grinned before calmly beginning.

"Worked till 7. Went for a run. Drove home. Spent the night alone which….I know,…is unusual but it was a school night and I wanted to watch Magnum." I smiled easily at the FBI agent before me. _Ok so I altered it a bit. I did go for a run and I did spend the night alone this time. Claire had a call with Devon planned so she wanted to be back home in time to take it. And without her company I decided to watch one of my favorite shows….because I wanted to….not because I needed comfort because I missed her._ Sacks eyed me curiously.

"What was it about?" he asked. I chuckled and nodded my head approvingly.

"Aha, the old checking the plot ploy." I mused, annoying Sacks once more.

"You're good Agent Sacks, very good." I complimented and paused before diving into the plot of the show.

"It's my favorite Magnum, the one where he finds himself adrift at sea after a boating accident and vividly relives his father's death during the Korean war." I answered. Sacks sneered at me. In return I simply grinned and blinked innocently. Sacks quirked his head and sighed.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here. You think you were framed." He drawled as I leaned my head on one of my hands. I pointed at him.

"Now we're getting somewhere." I mused.

"And who did you think it was who framed you?" Sacks asked. I groaned thoughtfully.

"Well….anyone of 100 people? Maybe." I pointed out, lifting up my hands in an 'I have no idea' gesture. _He did realize I put people behind bars for a living right?_

"I have a list if you're interested." Tony explained casually.

"Do you realize the kind of trouble you're in here DiNozzo?" Sacks asked in disgust at my nonchalantness. I smacked my lips and stared at the man seriously.

"Oh believe me, I do." I assured. I knew I was in deep trouble. I had been in this line of work for years and I knew how evidence worked. The odds were not in my favor. Having enough of this conversation I then scooted forward and leaned over the table childishly to stare at the man.

"Do you realize that you have an enormous clump of something green between your teeth? Right here." I pointed to my own teeth as a reference as I stared at the man. Sack glowered but sucked on his teeth subconsciously. Seeing that I wasn't getting anywhere I then lifted up a leg and perched it on the table in front of me. Sacks crossed his arms and stared at me incredulously.

"What is it about women?" I began as I peered at my shoe.

"Is it the way they smell or the beguiling smiles, the whispers, the secrets." I mused in deep thought, y mind drifting towards one specific woman that I knew was working her butt off to prove my innocence. Sacks was struggling not to snap at me as he grimaced and fidgeted in silence as I droned on.

"Or is the way they tiptoe around in those little articulate shoes? The way they fit their tiny little bodies into those tiny little outfits." I trailed off staring into the distance wistfully. _Claire always manages to run in those high heeled shoes, and when she wears skirts I swear I have a heart attack or something._

"You're wasting my time." Sacks growled before storming out of the room. The moment he left I pulled my leg back down and sobered up. With a sigh, I stared at the mirror and straightened my suit jacket, not letting my mind wander to the worst case scenarios.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Sacks was fuming as he stepped into the hallway and stood next to Fornell.

"Take it easy." Fornell warned knowingly. DiNozzo always flustered people.

"This guy is implicated in a homicide. And he's making jokes." Sacks growled in annoyance.

"You've never worked with NCIS before have you Agent Sacks?" Fornell pointed out knowingly.

"I know that agents suspected of crimes don't get special treatments in my book." Sacks countered seriously.

"It's getting late we should collect the evidence." Fornell informed him instead.

"We have to arrest him Fornell. Bite marks don't lie and this guy can't stop." Sacks told him with a sigh, sensing Fornell's strong reluctance.

"I'll think about it." Fornell told him before pushing off the wall and heading down the hall.

...

In the room Tony was currently fiddling and fixing his hair style as he stared into the mirror. Done with the meaningless chore Tony set his hand down on the table with a thud. Pausing to look at it he slapped the table a couple more times. With a head nod, he began a series of rhythmic drumming on the desk using both of his hands. As he continued drumming he couldn't help but imagine all that was going on at the moment.

 ** _Abby and Chip in the lab collecting as many samples as possible. The FBI going in and extracting the evidence they had from autopsy and forensics as his team stood by, unable to protest._**

As the drumming continued Tony did a drum solo in the air, making appropriate sounds with his mouth before going back to his beating.

 ** _Ziva, Claire and McGee working to download Tony's files. The FBI coming in and removing his computer from the office soon after. The three watching them go with stony expressions._**

Suddenly his drumming stopped and he went back to adjusting his hair. Nothing to do but wait.

...

Outside Fornell and Gibbs were discussing what to do next.

"The US Attorney sees this as a heinous crime Jethro." Fornel hissed.

"It is a heinous crime Fornell." Gibbs pointed out.

"Tony didn't do it." Gibbs insisted.

"Without an alibi….i'd be in remiss if we didn't detain him." Tobias explained seriously. Gibbs sighed, knowing their hands were tied.

"People are going to get upset if they suspect a cover-up." He added. Gibbs nodded solemnly before making his way into interrogation. Tony stood up as the door opened.

"Finally. How'd I do?" Tony asked.

"Fine." Gibbs told him shortly.

"Fine? I thought it was Oscar material." Tony mused with his typical grin.

"Fornell is not going to book you." Gibbs began seriously. Tony eyed the FBI man behind Gibbs nervously.

"Uh huh?" he hummed before looking at Gibbs.

"But he is going to take you into custody until we clear up a few things." Gibbs explained. Tony nodded and looked down, his expression fearful as to what would happen.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Down in Abby's lab she was staring at the wall before her desk with a sad expression, her fists pressed against her cheeks. I strolled in quietly, knowing she was taking this really hard. We all were.

"You alright?" I asked, rubbing her shoulders comfortingly.

"I should be asking you that. I'm so sorry Claire." She mumbled, looking up at me fretfully.

"I must have screwed up Claire." She muttered. I sighed and sat down beside her on the desk.

"You didn't screw up Abbs." I assured with a sigh.

"And now I have all of this evidence…forensics…the thing that I love and I believe in. And it says Tony's a murderer." She sulked, ignoring my comforting words.

"Tony's not a murderer." I countered instantly. Even suggesting it made me sick to my stomach.

"I know he isn't, but somethings got to give." She sighed heavily, leaning her head back onto her fists.

"Either the forensics are wrong and its bad forensics or….. we have to save him Claire." She muttered helplessly.

"We will." I told her seriously.

"Because if this goes to court, with the fingerprint and the bite on the leg. Tony's going to go to prison for the rest of his life." She added fearfully, her knuckles knocking together nervously.

"And I'll be the one to put him there." I sighed, not bothering to correct her because she was right.

"We'll figure this out and find the bastard setting him up Abby. I know we will. Something has to come up." I mused, more for my benefit than hers. I couldn't even imagine how Tony was feeling right now.


	45. Chapter 45

[Frame Up: 2]

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in lockup Gibbs and Claire walked towards the cell with a box of Tony's favorite pizza in hand. When they reached their destination, Claire slid it through the bars. Tony looked up and grinned at the sight of his girlfriend and pizza, two of his favorite things. His suit jacket and tie were forgotten and his sleeves had been rolled up to his elbows as he had spent the night in the cell.

"I smelled you coming." Tony joked as he eagerly lept up to grab the pizza. He paused and stared at them quizzically.

"Pepperoni, sausage…extra cheese right?" his eyes lit up as he stared at the box, knowing what it contained without even opening it. Gibbs smirked in amusement.

"My favorite." Tony commented as he stared at the box.

"Thanks." He sighed and tossed the box onto the cot in the cell, suddenly not hungry as he paced around. Claire frowned as she observed his face, spotting the bags under his eyes. He must have been awake all night, torturing himself with worse case scenarios. Her heart hurt as he paced the front of the cell like a caged animal.

"I'll save that for later." He explained at her confused expression, running a hand across his lip nervously.

"You know I've been thinking. I'm a federal prosecutor's dream." He explained to Gibbs who stood there silently. The two watched, knowing that he would be going on one of his rants. He needed to get all of this off his chest. Tony turned to face an imaginary figure of himself as he played out how it would go.

 ** _** "You do tend to date a lot don't you Mr. DiNozzo?" he began, playing the prosecutor. Against the wall of his cell another 'Tony' chuckled defensively._**

 ** _"Yea…I do 'tend' to date a lot. But what's to say that dating a new girl every week is a crime?" he asked, looking around with his hands out._**

 ** _"Well it's not. But it does speak to your deep seeded psychological problems and…commitment issues." He countered, glancing back at Claire knowingly._**

 ** _"So you're saying my….intimacy issues stem from my mother? Who dressed me as a sailor until I was 10 years old?!" he asked bitterly, in the typical obnoxious way but a bit more psychotic._**

 ** _"Maybe." He spat out. The real Tony shared a withering look with Gibbs across the bars of his cell. He cleared his throat before talking and pacing once more._**

 ** _"Well it might explain why you objectify women as sexual objects. While you're being so forthright and insightful Mr. DiNozzo…why did you sink your teeth into the victims leg?" he asked seriously, glancing back at the other two who remained silent. 'Tony' sighed, leaning his head against the wall._**

 ** _"Because I'm angry, and I'm immature, and I like control!" he growled out animatedly the crazed grin never leaving his face._**

 ** _"You have no alibi." Prosecutor Tony droned calmly. 'Tony' chuckled humorlessly._**

 ** _"Alibi…" he chuckled tiredly._**

 ** _"How could I have an alibi when the murder doesn't even have a time or a date!" 'Tony' spat out in defense. Real Tony glanced back at Gibbs as he thought._**

 ** _"That's interesting. What about means? Latex glove, scalpel…..you could have gotten these things from work. No?" he asked, raising his brows expectantly. 'Tony' growled._**

 ** _"Right…of course." He chuckled bitterly once more._**

 ** _"I ripped a glove at the scene. Seems a little sloppy for a federal agent who investigates crime scenes…BUT you know those are the breaks when you're a homicidal maniac bringing butchered women's remains out in the woods in the middle of the night! Right?!" he shouted back at himself. Tony breathed heavily from getting himself worked up. **_**

Gibbs stared as the real Tony took his mental copy's spot against the wall, breathing heavily as the reality of his fate weighed heavily on him.

"I'm not getting out of this one am I boss?" he asked quietly. Gibbs stared at him quietly and reached a hand through the bars to gesture for him to come forward. Tony swallowed and slowly walked over. Once he was close enough Gibbs reached up and slapped him on the back of the head.

"Thank you, boss." Tony nodded sincerely. That small gesture let him know that everything would be ok. Gibbs wasn't done with this yet and as long as he acted normal then Tony knew it would be ok. Gibbs nodded at him with a small grin. He tapped Tony's chin in encouragement before walking back down the hall, leaving him and Claire alone. Tony sighed, clenching his eyes shut as he pressed his forehead against the bars. He was brought out of his wallowing when a gentle hand was placed on his cheek through the bars. Tony looked up at her with sad eyes.

"You're not a homicidal maniac Tony. You've got some issues but nothing to this extreme. It hurts that you keep thinking so lowly of yourself." She mused, staring at him seriously. It broke her heart to hear how Tony ranted about his insecurities and downfalls in his monologue a moment ago. Tony grinned wryly.

"Tony, you know if you need me as a reference for an alibi or something…"

"No, I'm not dragging you down with me." He immediately countered. Claire sighed.

"But if talking about our relationship will help you…" she trailed off but stopped at his serious expression.

"Ok, but don't worry. Everything will work out." she insisted, running her thumb along his cheek. Tony smiled at her sincerity. It made him feel a bit lighter knowing how sure she was.

"Now you be a good little convict and eat your pizza and sleep." She scolded jokingly. Tony chuckled. They stared at one another for a few more seconds before leaning in to share a brief kiss through the bars.

"I have to get back to work." She muttered in a whisper after they parted. Tony nodded. With one final smile Claire made her way out to meet Gibbs. Tony sighed and ran a hand down his head and neck before perching himself on the cot and digging into the pizza.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

I was typing furiously at my desk, phone pinched between my cheek and shoulder. My was desk covered with takeout food, signifying our reluctance to leave last night. Ziva, McGee and I had spent most of the night going through Tony's hate list and narrowing down suspects. As Ziva's call ended she turned to our main screen and crossed off another head-shot.

"Mike Macoluso, still in jail. My sources say his family is very happy about it." She informed us tiredly. McGee who was in the same position as I was at his own desk piped up.

"It's amazing how you've only been in this country a couple months and you already have sources." He mused.

"Who says my sources are from this country McGee?" she asked curiously. As he frowned a voice spoke up from the other end of his line.

"Yes hi…killed in prison. I'm very sorry for your loss." He muttered distractedly as he crossed off yet another name on Tony's list.

"Dead." he listed as he hung up the phone. On my line I perked up as the woman in question finally answered.

"Yes does the name Tony DiNozzo ring any bells?...I'm sure you're very angry yes…where have you been the last couple months….uh….oh out of the country? Alright then thank you for your time…..does he have a current girlfriend?...um yes sorry." I quickly hung up the phone, crossing off another name and headshot.

"Tony sure does know how to pick them." I muttered under my breath. That chick was crazy, ranting and raving about him and then asking if he was single. I sighed heavily, running my hands through my hair. I hope the others had more leads than I did.

"Where are we?" Gibbs asked as he strode into the office.

"I got nothing so far." I answered with a frown.

"At the head of my suspects list, George Stewart. The forensic tech Tony got fired from Baltimore PD." McGee answered, pulling up a picture of a balding man. We all gathered around the big screen.

"He lost everything when Tony accused him of contaminating blood samples in '02." McGee explained placing his hands on his hips.

"Define everything." Gibbs asked.

"Wife, house, kids. He fought the claim in court and won but then no one would hire him. disappeared two years ago." McGee rattled off.

"How'd he win?" I asked in confusion.

"Don't know. George Stewart versus Baltimore PD was sealed." McGee sighed. Gibbs shot him a look.

"Undisappear him." Gibbs ordered lightly.

"Right." Tim nodded. Ziva then took the remote and brought up her top suspect.

"Lieutenant Pam Kim. Surgical nurse, fully capable of slicing off a woman's legs.

"I remember her. She met Tony on the Jeremy Davison serial rapist case." I added, smiling wryly at the familiar face. She was the one that was acting bitchy towards me that day.

"At Quantico." Gibbs added thoughtfully.

"She's the one who egged Tony's car." McGee added in agreement.

"Really?" Ziva asked in surprise.

"Where is she now?" Gibbs asked.

"Virginia, returned two weeks ago from a tour in Iraq." Ziva answered.

"She's on her honeymoon at the Greenbrier." Ziva added, getting back to her desk.

"Who'd she marry?" I asked curiously.

"Scott Sparks." Ziva told us.

"That the guy she was engaged to when she met Tony." I informed sternly. Leave it to Tony to hook up with an engaged person.

"Get her in here." Gibbs ordered, typing something at his computer.

"On it." Ziva assured.

"Uh boss." McGee tentatively chimed in.

"Uh huh?" Gibbs hummed distractedly.

"Well I was thinking….she's….she's on her honeymoon. And well…" he trailed off not wanting to divulge into details. Gibbs stood up to look at him curiously.

"Yea?" he asked casually, not seeing the big deal. McGee rose his brows in surprise before shrugging and shuffling away. I smirked at how innocent he still acted. Everyone knew what happened on honeymoons. Knowing Ziva, Pam is going to get what's coming to her from the last time I saw her. Payback's a bitch.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In interrogation, a very irritated Pam was sitting across from Gibbs.

"Ever hear of coitus interruptus Special Agent Gibbs?" she asked him sourly.

"Nope." Gibbs told her shortly, writing down in his notepad.

"Ever been on a honeymoon?" she asked with a wry smile.

"Yup." He chirped.

...

In observation McGee looked down at Ziva curiously.

"You found them?..."

"Fragrante delicto." She answered. Claire chuckled knowingly while McGee quirked a confused brow.

"That's?..." he trailed off questioningly.

"Roman slang for what Tony calls….'badda bing badda boom'" Claire told him impishly.

...

"..Being dragged into an NCIS interrogation isn't exactly the best way to start a marriage." Pam hissed.

"You married the same guy you dumped for Tony DiNozzo last year?" Gibbs asked instead. She sighed, pursing her lips before speaking.

"Look….I had a fling with Tony and I regret every last minute of it." She responded, leaning her arms on the table.

"That why you put him on the herpes website?" he asked her.

"I got a little emotional." She admitted.

"A little emotional is egging his car….putting him on the herpes website was…"

"Bitchy?" Pam supplied.

"I know." She nodded.

...

"She always was a bit bitchy." Claire muttered under her breath. Ziva smirked but didn't comment on it.

"What does a woman accomplish by…..cracking eggs on a man's car?" she asked McGee instead.

"A lot of guys really care about their car. It's kinda like a…you break my heart I break yours." He answered.

"Plus it's a lot of fun." Claire added with a devilish grin. Ziva frowned.

"In Israel we just shoot men who are untrue." She informed easily. McGee shot her a wide eyed look as she grinned.

...

"Look, Tony could have turned me in when I was harassing him. He didn't. If anything, I owe him." Pam admitted.

"When were you last at Quantico?" Gibbs inquired.

"I've been on tour in Iraq for the last 8 months." She shook her head in confusion.

"That wasn't the question." Gibbs countered. She looked up in thought.

"I checked in with my command ten days ago and took leave to get married." She told him with a sigh.

"Look if someone brown bagged Tony's door or torched his car, it wasn't me." She explained to him irritably. Gibbs stared at her.

"Does your husband know about Tony?" he inquired.

"Of course he knows what…..Scotts a lawyer if he has a problem with someone he sues them not ….." she trailed off staring at Gibbs as realization of the situation sets in.

"Tony wasn't murdered, was he?" she asked quietly.

"No." Gibbs shook his head.

"Then what is this about?" she questioned. Gibbs sighed.

"Lieutenant, you're free to return to your honeymoon but if I need you…." He trailed off shooting her a knowing look. Pam sighed.

"I'll be at the Greenbriar for another week." She told him in annoyance. As Pam went to the door she paused.

"And next time, have your agent knock." She growled.

...

Ziva grinned and shrugged innocently at her comment while Claire chuckled shamelessly. McGee rolled his eyes at the two.

...

Down in her lab, Abby was staring at the blood painting behind her desk.

"Ma'am?" Chip tentatively called. Seeing her unresponsive he stepped forward and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Abby?" he asked instead. She slowly turned her head to look at him with bloodshot eyes. Ever since last night she had been quiet and solemn, very much unlike her usual self.

"What?" she asked sharply.

"I think I found something that might help out Tony." He informed her. Instantly Abby shot up from her seat.

"Why didn't you say so?" she asked him eagerly.

"Well it may not exonerate him but at least place someone else at the crime scene." He explained.

"What is it?" she cut him off with wide and anxious eyes.

"You know the sticky stuff that's found on the victim's ankle?" he began, trailing after Abby who darted into the lab at the word 'sticky.

"Yes." She answered, charging into the room.

"Well I chemically and instrumentally examined it, it shows an adhesive the same kind found in duct tape or carpet tape." He rambled, pulling up the readings for her.

"How does this help Tony?!" she asked him in exasperation.

"Well I discovered an anomaly in the adhesive material. A carpet fiber." He told her. Abby stared at him and waved her hands around asking him in a 'so what?' fashion.

"I used the FTIS and the Mass Spec to determine the chemical composition. It's a Dupont fiber from a mustang." He elaborated.

"But Tony drives.."

"I know what Tony drives, but when I checked the stain resistance it said the fiber came from a 2004 mustang." Chip clarified.

"Tony's mustang is a '66. It couldn't have been his car." Chip explained with a grin. Abby nodded and began storming out of the lab.

"We have to get a fiber from Tony's car before it gets towed." She announced before she disappeared, leaving Chip behind.

"Nice to have you back…..Abby." he told her as she left. Soon after Claire made her way down as Gibbs and Ziva had left to find George Stewart, who had changed his name to George Paytree. As she entered she frowned when noticing that Chip was the only one down there.

"Claire? What can I do for you?" he quickly asked, looking at her attentively. She smiled tightly and glanced around once more.

"I was actually looking for Abby she went out to do something." He answered vaguely. Claire nodded and turned to leave.

"How are you?" Chip quickly spoke up, getting her to pause.

"I'll be good when Tony's out." she told him tensely. Chip nodded.

"Well I mean I just thought that if you wanted to talk about it that we could you know…..get drinks or something….and talk." He trailed off lamely. Claire eyed him oddly.

"Thanks Chip but no thanks. I kinda would rather keep working, you know impending murder charge and all." She told him pointedly. Chip nodded nervously.

"If I was Tony then you wouldn't decline." He muttered bitterly under his breath as she turned to leave once more.

"What was that?" Claire inquired suspiciously. Chip's eyes widened and he looked at her in alarm.

"Uh…just that Tony would be fine." he replied. She stared at him a moment longer before heading towards the elevator, not entirely convince that's actually what he had muttered.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

A few moments later I had come back to the lab learning that Abby had gotten the carpet fibers from Tony's car. After Chip had pointed out the anomaly she was back to her perky self, hell bent on saving Tony. Wanting to help hurry the process I volunteered to help her put together the samples. I looked up as she finished taking out the slide from the microscope.

"Reasonable doubt can go a long way with a jury Chip." Abby informed him.

"If this was someone else's carpet fiber that was on that duct tape, hello frameup." She chirped, as I handed her a sample from the sticky substance on the leg. Chip frowned.

"And the bite mark?" Chip questioned.

"Well I guess you could steal dental records, create your own mold….make an impression on the leg." He mused thoughtfully. This piqued my interest. Not noticing what I was, Abby grinned.

"Keep going, keep going." She encouraged as she placed the vial into the Mass Spec.

"And the finger on the glove, I mean anyone could have pulled those gloves from our trash." He reasoned. I stared at him. He was coming up with this awfully quickly.

"Yes." Abby agreed, shooting a finger at him.

"You've put a lot of thought into this Chip." I commented calmly. Chip shot a look over at me before licking his lips in thought.

"Well I mean anything to help." He sputtered awkwardly.

"Oh Claire don't kill the mood! This is good stuff for reasonable doubt!" Abby scolded lightly.

"But then you wouldn't know which one was Tony's." Chip countered his previous statements with a grimace.

"Not you too! Don't ruin it Chip! You were on a roll." Abby scolded.

"Sorry." He muttered quietly. As the analysis came up Abby smiled…..until it read a 96% match.

"See what I mean." She told us in a pout.

"Uh..no?" I frowned as we stared at the results.

"The carpet fibers match. Tony must have redone his carpeting. Never have a negative thought when you're on a roll." Abby scolded Chip mostly.

"Yea he got about a year ago." I explained, just now understanding what her thought process was.

"Could be worse." Chip suggested.

"How?" Abby muttered.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Up in the bullpen later that evening Fornell was talking with Gibbs.

"The blood on the severed leg, DNA came back with a match." He explained solemnly.

"It matched DiNozzo." Gibbs answered knowingly. Fornell nodded. Ziva, McGee, and Claire stared between the two in alarm. It just got much worse.

...

The next morning Abby and Claire were conked out in her lab after being awake all night. Abby was lounging on her arms while holding her Caf-pow tightly. Claire had her arms crossed, sitting in the chair beside her as her head was lying back against the seat. McGee gently reached over to take the empty Caf-Pow from Abby's arms when she screeched in alarm, causing McGee to jump and Claire to jolt awake and fall out of her chair.

"What are you doing?" Claire asked in alarm, frantically scanning him as she stood back up.

"I was going to throw away Abby's Caf-pow." He told her dumbly.

"Why?" Abby asked instantly.

"Because I brought you a fresh one while you were sleeping." McGee explained, holding up the new cup. As he set down the large drink he then handed Claire her coffee as she reached for it greedily. Taking a sip, her eyes widened in alarm.

"No, I couldn't be sleeping, I have to save tony, what time is it?" Claire frantically asked, and reached for his watch violently.

"6 am. We lost two hours." She muttered, before getting back to work.

"We've been running jane doe's DNA everywhere, she's not in the CODIS, the armed forces, the fertility clinic, rare disease databases…." Abby rambled in distraught as the two watched all the samples fail. McGee sighed and tried to calm her down.

"Abby its not your fault." Her told her gently. Abby looked at him like he was insane.

"Not my fault! Someone's using forensics to frame Tony and I'm letting them get away with it!" she told him.

"You'll find something." He assured.

"How?! All the FBI left me was a speck of blood and a carpet fiber." Claire told him, the two girls getting amped up once more. Abby got up and paced around the evidence table, wiggling her fingers in a jittery fashion.

"I have to look at this from a new perspective." She muttered and closed her eyes. Abby then jerked her head upside own. In her vision was McGee's butt and she frowned.

"Your butts getting bony." She told him. McGee, who wasn't looking at her frowned and turned to face Abby as she stood back upright.

"Bony? I'll have you know that Ziva rated it a 4 out of 5 ok?" he countered, causing Claire to snort. Abby didn't listen as a light bulb came on in her head, her eyes widening.

"Bone marrow." She mused quietly, scrambling over to her computer.

"There's a national database for bone marrow donors." Claire explained realizing what Abby was thinking. Getting into the database, Abby began running the samples in hope for DNA match. She frowned and looked at McGee in bewilderment.

"Why is Ziva rating your butt?" she questioned accusingly.

"Well….Tony started it." He defended.

"Hey!"

"Don't you blame tony, he's almost on death row right now!" they both shouted, losing their cool from lack of sleep. McGee quickly tried to pacify them.

"No, no. look I.." he began but Abby held up her hand as an alarm went off on her computer. They had found a match.

"Jane doe, is Carla Johnson." Abby smiled.

...

At the hospital, a nurse looked at the agents skeptically.

"You matched my DNA with a pair of disembodies legs?" she asked.

"I'd fire what ever lab you're using at NCIs agent Gibbs." She told him lightly. Gibbs grinned at her.

"I assure you, they're real and they're mine." She explained, holding her skirt up higher than necessary. As she turned, Gibbs and Ziva followed.

"Are you a bone marrow donor." Gibbs asked.

"I volunteer with sharing bone marrow, organs, blood. I believe in sharing my good health but I'm not in line for body parts. Not until I'm dead." she explained with a chuckle.

"We got the DNA match from a bone marrow database." Ziva explained to her. Carla frowned.

"I haven't donated any bone marrow yet." She told them.

"But I did give blood to an accident victim a couple of weeks ago. She died on the operating table." She added seriously.

"Did she lose her legs?" Ziva asked.

"No, her chest was crushed" Carla explained.

"Where is her body now?" Gibbs continued.

"Either at our morgue's or the states. She was a jane doe." The nurse sighed. Gibbs and Ziva shared a look.

"Is it standard operating procedure for nurses to give transfusions?" Ziva questioned as the nurse looked thorough her file for the jane doe in question.

"No, we were low on blood and I'm a universal donor." Carla told her.

"I bet identifying a pair of legs must be a first." She mused at the agents.

"Here it is, the jane doe was transferred to the Virginia county coroner's office 8 days ago." She read off for them.

"Who came for the body?" Gibbs asked.

...

In Abby's lab Chip stared at the match.

"I can't believe the blood in the bone marrow matched with someone else's from the transfusion. I mean what are the odd of that?" Chip commented.

"The same as this killer getting away with framing Tony." Abby growled as she worked. Claire had left to join Gibbs and Ziva as they went to pick up the coroner who had the body.

"well the guy is a genius, you've got to give him that." Chip mused.

"Even genii make mistakes. I did." She countered. Chip frowned and turned to her.

"What was your mistake?" he asked. Abby frowned and clutched the bottle in her hands.

"Giving up on forensics when I should have looked deeper." She droned thoughtfully. Chip watched as she put down the vial.

"We already processed that fiber." He told her.

"I know that Chazoid but the killer picked up this fiber, took it to work, had it in his car, and carried it through the woods. There has to be some sign of that guy on this fiber." She insisted, getting heated as she went on.

"Uh not if he wore gloves." Chip countered.

"Maybe the gloves have a different residue than NCIS gloves, maybe he smokes a cigar. Maybe there's cigar residue on the fiber." Abby ranted.

"Are you really going to test it for cigar smoke?" Chip chuckled incredulously. Abby whipped around to glare at him; Chip's smile fading quickly. Abby took in a calming breath.

"For a second, I lost my faith in…" she splayed her hands out dramatically.

"… but now I know that forensics was just testing me, and I will rise up and I will find the man that did this to tony and I will crucify him." she monologued in a southern voice, clenching her fists and staring up towards the ceiling. Chip blinked owlishly and turned back to his work.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

At the coroner, I violently pushed George up against the wall. He stared at me with wide eyes as I practically snarled at him.

"We have that warrant now." I smiled at him menacingly.

"Why, I didn't do anything wrong." He sputtered as Ziva searched him for his keys. She nearly groaned at his breath when he turned to her.

"Oh I could think of at least two things. Framing an NCIS agent for murder and really, really, really pissing him off." She nodded towards Gibbs in response. _Gibbs wasn't the only one he pissed off, the bastard framing Tony._ George stared at Gibbs who stood by the freezer.

"Open it." He ordered.

"I strongly recommend you do what he says." I growled before starting at his breath as he turned to face me. _Ziva wasn't exaggerating, this was brutal._ When he didn't answer, I smacked him on the cheek. George scurried over to unlock the doors as Gibbs smirked at us over his head. We slowly walked into the blue tinted freezer where a few body bags were hanging. Gibbs held up a flashlight as he felt for missing legs through the bags. While Ziva and I stayed behind to watch George.

"This explains why jane doe's legs were in pristine condition." Ziva mused.

"You think I cut off some girl's legs?" he asked as Gibbs continued to search.

"Did you?" I inquired.

"No, why would I ever do such a thing?" he asked incredulously. Ziva flinched back again as she was hit with another breath.

"I don't know but if you're going to talk to me please get a breath mint first." She urged. He frowned in confusion and I stepped out of range.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In the holding cell, Tony was lying on the cot, staring up at the ceiling as his hands rested behind his head. The sound of harmonica music could be heard and soon McGee appeared at his cell, playing the instrument.

"Very funny, Probie." Tony droned as McGee came to a stop.

"Come on Tony it's a gift." McGee chirped. Tony sighed as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"From who, the baggie bunnies or Pam Kim?" he asked sarcastically.

"No actually it's from Chip." McGee corrected. Tony groaned as he stalked towards the door.

"Great, now I'm getting crap from lab monkeys." He sneered tiredly and tossed it onto his cot.

"Not for much longer." McGee informed him lightly. Tony sighed and looked back at the man.

"I knew boss would get me out of here. What did you find?" he asked, his mood a bit better.

"Well hopefully the body that goes with those legs." McGee answered.

"What do you mean 'hopefully' Probie?" Tony questioned.

"Abby matched the legs that you severed…"

"I didn't sever any legs!" Tony shouted and stormed towards Tim warningly.

"Sorry slip of the tongue." McGee apologized, and Tony relaxed a bit.

"The legs you supposedly severed. DNA match to a Carla Johnson who you are not going to believe this…"

"I'll believe anything if it gets me out of here." Tony insisted.

"She's alive." McGee told him with a grin.

"With no legs." Tony mused.

"Oh no she's got legs." McGee corrected with a grin still plastered on his face. Tony deadpanned. He nodded before grabbing McGee roughly by the neck and yanking him against the bars.

"You ok Tony?" McGee wheezed.

"Prison changes a man." Tony growled.

"Tony, come on man." McGee whined.

...

In the freezer, Gibbs felt and paused when it was empty. He felt again and realized it was just a torso. Unzipping the top he found it was a woman. Finding what they needed he turned to face George. The man sighed in despair.

"He's doing it to me again." He whined as Claire turned him against the wall to cuff him.

"That bastard DiNozzo set me up!" he shouted as Ziva read off his rights.

...

In lockup McGee and Fornell grinned as the guard opened up the cell.

"Never thought I'd say this…but I am so happy to see you Fornell." Tony chirped as he practically skipped to the door. He held out the harmonica to him. Fornell glanced down at it in disinterest.

"That makes one of us DiNutso." He muttered and took it from him. Tony chuckled.

"I never even got to do my cool hand Luke impersonation either." He mused with a grin before turning to McGee. He slung an arm around the man.

"What we got here is a failure to communicate." He droned with a southern twang.

"Never saw it." McGee told him. Tony looked at Tim in shock.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked as the two made their way down the hall.

...

in the lab Abby was busy sampling vials. Claire was across from her, setting up more samples for her to test. As the two worked in silence, Chip wandered in.

"Oh they're throwing a little welcome back party for Agent DiNozzo upstairs." He informed casually as he eyed their work.

"Go Chip we're staying down here. There's no way that Stewart pulled this off by himself." Claire insisted.

"Why not?" Chip questioned.

"Because I refuse to believe that some alcoholic ME's assistant beat me at my own game." Abby growled. Chip scoffed.

"Guys, don't you think you're obsessing a little?" he suggested but they continued on.

"Know what I found on one of the little fibers Chippy? Sodium chloride, potassium, and urea." Abby listed off as she placed the vials into the machine.

"Sweat." Claire chirped in explanation as Chip stared at them silently.

"Exactly, should be able to pull DNA from that." Abby chimed in. Chip frowned as he watched.

"I also put a call into Pemperton Medical Analysis. The lab that fired Stewart, he's probably after them too." She added, rushing to her computer.

"What can I do to help?" Chip asked, pulling on his gloves.

"Stay out of the way." Claire told him.

...

Upstairs the group was surrounding Gibb's desk.

"I didn't doubt you for a second boss….well maybe for one second." Tony joked, subtly scanning around for the missing person. Claire had yet to show up which was odd.

"Oh yea? Don't thank me. It was all Abby and Claire." Gibbs clarified, handing him a cigar.

"They've been on their feet since this bizarre affair began." Ducky added.

"Where are they?" Tony inquired casually.

"They've probably passed on by now." Ziva chuckled. McGee shot her a look.

"The term is passed out." he corrected.

"Whatever, the girls are tired." She sighed. During this conversation, Gibbs met Jenny at the stairwell and she handed him a file.

"I got the court records of Baltimore PD vs. Stewart." She told him.

"You're a little late." Gibbs quipped. She scoffed and shot him a teasing look.

"Uh I mean thank you director." He amended with a chuckle, going through the pages.

"Better Jethro." She teased.

...

Abby was on the phone with the lab.

"All I'm saying is you might want to warn the person that actually made the mistake that got Stewart fired." She insisted. Just as the man responded the line went dead.

"Hello?" she called in confusion. A deranged chuckle broke her from her thoughts. The two girls looked up to spot Chip laughing quietly, spinning around a large hunting knife. Claire reached for her gun and mentally cursed, realizing it was in her desk drawer upstairs.

"It looks like we lost our connection." He joked.

"It was you." Abby growled and stood up. As she did Chip held out the knife towards her and Claire stepped in between the two.

"You worked at Pemperton Medical Analysis." Claire realized.

"Until I got fired." He growled, still holding the knife out.

"You took this job just to set up Tony." Abby glared. He nodded and pursed his lips.

"Yup…..and I did a pretty good job at it didn't it? Didn't it?" he questioned shakily as he took a step towards them. Claire growled. Chip mentally flashed back to all the evidence he gathered to frame him up. The apple Tony had chomped on and tossed in the trash. The tissues from when Tony got beat up undercover. When Tony threw away his gloves into the lab trashcan. Gathering fibers from Tony's mustang. He blinked as he glared back at Claire.

"I figured I might get a perk out of it too. But you kept pining over Tony the whole time. Even when he was an idiot!" Chip glowered at the agent. Claire rose a brow, realizing now what the odd look he had been giving her this whole time.

"I do not pine." She countered.

"Shut up!" he shouted, cutting her off. Claire began flexing her fingers, prepping for a fight as Chip's breaking point neared.

"What does Tony have that I don't have?! Huh?" he shouted manically.

"Well for one he's sane." She quipped, causing Chip to bristle.

"He's just going to move onto another whore you know." He taunted. Claire glared at him.

"I'm really going to enjoy kicking your ass." She threatened. Chip just laughed.

"You know I thought a fair trade would be taking down those two idiots who got me fired!" he growled, admitting to framing both George and Tony.

"But you two couldn't leave well enough alone could you!" he sneered, jutting the knife at them.

"Could you!" he growled at he lunged forward. Claire immediately grabbed his arm, locking his elbows as she tried to pry it from his grasp. Chip growled animalisticaly and threw her back into Abby who was a trying to get around them. Abby scrambled over towards her office, hoping to reach the phone. Chip picked his knife back up and lunged, but Claire caught him before he could reach her. Whipping around he swiped at her, Claire flinching back as she could feel it pierce her skin.

...

Unaware as to what was going on, Ziva and Ducky were laughing at Tony's desk. Suddenly Gibbs turned to a picture and instantly bolted down to the elevators.

"Jethro?" Jenny questioned as the rest of the team sprinted after him without question. She glanced down to see a picture of Chip on the stand.

...

Gibbs raced into autopsy his gun at the ready.

"Abby? Claire?!" he called, the others following behind. They looked around to see that her lab had been trashed, vials shattered and her Caf-pow splattered all over the floor, the color mingling with what was definitely blood. Tony's blood ran cold as he spotted Abby hunched over Claire who was on the ground, red splattering around her. Looking all disheveled Abby spun around to face them tiredly, revealing a very awake Claire. Tony rushed over towards them, not thinking about the others and he sat down next to Claire who smiled up tiredly. He scanned her over, finding a couple bruises and a slice on her hand but over all just fine.

"You ok?" he muttered lowly, his eyes widening in panic as to why she was on the floor. Claire nodded.

"Yea, blow to the head. Not a concussion so I'll be just fine in a couple minutes." She explained. Letting out a breath he nodded back at Gibbs. Abby pointed towards an enraged and tied up Chip she sighed, looking at the director who had just walked in.

"Now can I work alone." She asked pointedly. They all remained silent as they stared at the writhing and shouting Chip on the floor. Tony rose a brow and looked down at the girl on the floor.

"Welcome back." She weakly smiled.


	46. Chapter 46

[Boxed In:1] 

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

At the shipyard, Tony and Ziva were making their way to the end of the dock; each wearing a heavy coat to keep out the cold. The two of them had been partnered together due to the fact that McGee needed to stay behind to run tech stuff and Claire was out doing errands for the director for the morning. Tony was not too pleased to be separated from her as they hadn't seen much of one another over the past couple days due to work and the legal papers in order to clear up his being framed from murder. But trying not to tip off the others he just had to grin and bear a trip with the assassin.

"Ah you should have been there, you would have loved it. Two warriors squaring off in the ring." he recounted fondly and dramatically.

"I had plans with McGee" Ziva explained as they rounded a corner.

"…mud glistening off their thongs…wait back up a second. You were with McGeek?" Tony questioned, as his train of thought was broken by her statement.

"No he was with me, I was making him dinner." She countered easily as they scanned the containers down the row they were traveling.

"Why would you make McGeek dinner?" he questioned, throwing his hands up in confusion. She shot him a look.

"I like to cook." She explained. Tony scoffed.

"Jimmy seemed to like it." Ziva added as an afterthought.

"Palmer?! I've never even been to your place and you're cooking for McGee and the autopsy gremlin?" he questioned incredulously.

"Well I you wouldn't have had time to visit anyway." She told him with a smirk. Tony frowned and glanced over her expression warily.

"Why is that?" he inquired tentatively.

"You have been busy staying with your new girlfriend and all." Ziva pointed out deviously. Tony's eyes widened comically for a split second before he recomposed himself. There was no way she had figured it out could there? He and Claire had always been very careful when around their work friends.

"Wha….what would make you think I have a girlfriend?" he continued in an attempt to be casual.

"Well for the past couple of months you have been spending about two days a week at her house." she told him without pause as she looked around at the labels on the containers around them. Tony eyed her.

"How do you know it's not just some one night stands. I do tend to have those. Girlfriends aren't really my style." He dismissed smugly. Ziva chuckled which immediately had him frowning suspiciously.

"Oh it is the same woman." She assured. Tony rolled his eyes.

"How could you possibly know that?! Are you stalking me?" he questioned, trying to divert the conversation. Ziva scoffed.

"Do not insult me, I have better things to do with my life than keep track of you….its your shampoo." She explained. Tony screwed up his face in confusion.

"My shampoo?...when did you smell my shampoo you stalker." He asked her incredulously. Ziva glared at him.

"It is very feminine some days. Not the one you keep at your house, and it's the same one. Very….fruity.." she mused distractedly as they continued their observations. Tony tilted his head in thought. Claire did like her shampoos and body lotions to be fruit scented. Lemon was her favorite. She always smelled nice. He shook his head, getting back to the problem at hand. Ziva was catching on.

"I didn't think you paid so much attention to me. At what point did the earth come off its axis?" he joked dramatically but paused when Ziva latched onto his arm.

"Perhaps now Tony. What's wrong with that picture?" Ziva asked gesturing towards the two wooden boxes at the end of the isle they had been walking down.

"Containers aren't unloaded at the dock." He answered knowingly. The two agents pulled out their guns. Tony directed Ziva in one direction while he went the other way to circle the area. They each jogged on opposite sides of the containers, making brief eye contact when they could in order to keep the same pace. They reached the last container to see the door partially open. Ziva kept watch while Tony peeked inside.

"Clear." He told her, putting his gun away. Ziva did the same.

"The custom's seal has been broken" Tony explained glancing over the container. Ziva glanced around and spotted a man raising a machine gun in their direction.

"Tony!" she warned before yanking him to safety behind the boxes. They each took out their weapons and peered around to fire shots in the man's direction. Suddenly machine fire came from the other direction, causing them to duck behind the crates. The agents locked eyes and Tony nodded before they began firing in opposite directions.

"Get inside." Tony ordered as the fire became heavier. The two shuffled back to back as they made their way to safety inside the container. Tony fired a few more rounds as Ziva made her way in, hitting a man in the shoulder as she did. When they made it inside the container they took positions by the partially opened door to fire. When the firing had paused, Tony dashed behind some boxes across from Ziva as they both took aim, preparing for the men to come after them. Some muffled shouting could be heard from the outside along with the sound of an engine starting up. They both dashed for the open door, only for it to slam shut on them and the sound of locking could be heard from the other side. Tony felt around the door while Ziva paced up and down the aisles, looking for an exit.

"I think we've just been screwed in here Tony." She growled.

"The term is bolted." He corrected, glancing around.

"Same difference." She retorted with a huff.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

I watched as Ziva was kicking the sealed doors aggressively.

"I've tried that already its bolted from the outside." I droned in boredom.

"I knew your idea was stupid." she spat at me irritably, taking another kick at the door.

"My idea?" I asked from my spot, perched on one of the boxes.

"Yes, taking up a defensive position inside a metal box. Yes!" she rambled on.

"You're not panicking on me are ya?" I questioned casually, curiously watching as she paced around like a caged animal. For an assassin she doesn't seem to be taking this situation well.

"I don't panic. This is me…mad." She countered, growling as she kicked the door again. I grinned and chuckled in amusement as she stomped towards the back of the box. I dialed a number on my cell and frowned; getting no signal. Well this wasn't good.

"I'm not getting any reception, how about you?" I asked. Ziva sighed heavily and held her own phone up before closing it again.

"I'm braless." She sighed.

"I noticed that earlier but on your phone, they're called bars." I corrected in amusement, just trying to get her riled up.

"Don't you have anything better to do than correct my English?" she asked in exasperation. I grinned. Mission accomplished.

"Like what?" I inquired, getting up to walk towards her.

"Like getting us out of this box you've trapped us in?" she answered pointedly before scaling the crates to look out the small holes near the top.

"Ok first of all, this is not my fault. Second of all, I like dark, tight spaces" I mused, standing behind her. Strangely enough it brought back memories of my bedroom when I was a kid…..among other things like that one time in college with Claire. That for sure takes top 5 reasons for my like of dark spaces.

 _Flashback:_

 _Tony had brought Claire along with him to one of the many parties that he had been invited to. This time however, Claire was Tony's plus one and no one at the party knew her. Usually they would be invited as a package deal except for this time. As the night wore on the crowd got tipsy with the alcohol raging throughout it. The few who were still sober enough to function decided to get a game going. Chuck, one of the hosts eyed Claire over by the bar talking with Tony when a thought struck him._

 _"Hey lets get a game going." He suggested, already plopping himself down on one of the sofas. A chorus of agreement was heard as other students gathered around the circle. The instigator looked up to spot Tony and Claire eyeing the group thoughtfully but not making a move._

 _"Hey Tony why don't you and your friend come join us." Chuck insisted. Tony eyed him warily, not trusting what the man's intentions where by how he was eyeing Claire but finally agreed when Claire started tugging him along. He found a spot right next to her, close enough where she wouldn't notice his protective stance but the other boys in the circle would._

 _"What kind of game?" He inquired once they were all settled. Chuck chuckled deviously._

 _"7 minutes in heaven." He announced, getting a mixture of responses._

 _"What are we 15?" Claire asked incredulously, amused that he would actually be suggesting it. Chuck grinned at her._

 _"No but I just thought will all this alcohol and sexual tension going on here it would make things interesting. And you're friends with Tony, I'm surprised you aren't used to him doing this stuff all the time." He joked. Tony chuckled obnoxiously, shooting Chuck an unamused glare. With that he started handing out pieces of paper for them to write their names on. Once everyone's names were sorted the drawing began. A couple rounds went by and neither Tony or Claire had been picked yet. For this next round Chuck came back from his turn, a bit put out that it wasn't Claire as he had hoped for. When the bowl came to Tony he eagerly put his hand in and shuffled the papers around dramatically, shooting winks at the other girls in the circle. As he finally drew one out and looked down at the handwriting his heart jumped. Frowning at his frozen expression Claire leaned over to peer down at the paper and her brows shot up. It was her name. She was supposed to be going into a dark and….well used…..closet with Tony. The boy beside Tony decided to find out what was going on since the two were speechless._

 _"Alright Tony and Claire, you lucky dog!" he shouted drunkenly, tapping Tony on the shoulder in appreciation. A round of shouts and cheers was heard as the two dazed friends were practically dragged over and shoved into the closet. Once the door was shut and they were plunged into darkness they finally broke out of their panicked trances. Tony coughed awkwardly as he could feel the heat from the other couple's previous romp in the room. That paired with how close Claire was to him was driving him insane. He still hadn't been able to get over his crush just yet and this situation was not helping anything. Claire was in a similar situation as she was just as attracted to him as he was to her. Claire shifted on her feet, creating a friction between their bodies and Tony's eyes widened in alarm. He clenched his eyes shut tightly, hoping that she couldn't feel anything stiffening up. That would be an awkward conversation._

 _"So…" She began, desperately wanting him to say something…anything._

 _"So…..we should probably do something." Tony started off awkwardly._

 _"What? Are you suggesting we…" she asked him in alarm. Was this really how he wanted it to go? Tony stuttered._

 _"W…Not necessarily. I just meant I have a reputation to uphold and you know…" he chuckled nervously. Claire nodded. This made more sense._

 _"So you're proposing that we fake it…..to make it look like something actually happened. Cause god forbid you tarnish your womanizing reputation." She snorted, hoping he didn't pick up on her disheartened tone. Tony smiled as he scratched the back of his neck._

 _"No I can't have that. And this could be fun. I mean you have to admit I'm much better than Chuck or some other knucklehead out there." He pointed out. Claire grinned to herself._

 _"Yes I can admit that." She told him quietly, not able to see the proud grin that graced his face. They stood there in silence for a moment longer, unsure of how to begin._

 _"You need some help getting started there Romeo?" Claire jeered, easing the tension growing between them. Tony chuckled and grabbed her face, bringing it closer to his own. Her eyes widened and she swallowed thickly._

 _"What are you doing?" she asked him breathlessly. Tony paused at the feeling of her so close to him._

 _"Just getting your hair all messed up. This is normally what I would do anyway if we were actually going through with this." He whispered, trying to keep his emotions in check. Claire nodded._

 _"Good idea." she agreed quickly. She began reaching for his shirt, pulling it out and unbuttoning a couple buttons. Playing along Tony ran his hands along her body, getting her clothes all mused up. They both went at it, making noises which caused them to giggle at how silly they were acting. All the while they enjoyed taking advantage of the situation to have their hands on one another in a more romantic sense. Finally after a few moments of activity they slowed to a stop, still breathing heavily from the fun they were having goofing off with one another. Tony sighed and held her by the shoulders. He could finally make her out in the darkness and he gulped at how sexy she looked. He had done this for real with so many girls but this time it felt more….real….intense….blissful. He watched her intently as Claire leaned in to hover over his lips, glancing down at them. Taking the plunge she leaned in and pressed a good soft kiss to his lips. Tony's eyes fluttered shut as he took in their first and possibly only kiss. Breaking away he stared down at her, taking in everything he could before this moment would come to an abrupt end._

 _"What was that for?" he asked quietly. Claire cleared her throat, pulling back as far as she could in the space._

 _"I just thought you should have some of my lipstick on you." She explained tensely. That was part of the reason._

 _"Good idea." he muttered lowly, not as pleased with her reasoning as he wanted to be. Tony opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by the door flying open, instantly blinding the two of them. Chuck groaned._

 _"Aw come on I wanted to catch you naked!" he pouted, obviously having more to drink than before. Tony glared and shoved past him, tugging Claire along behind him. The rest of the night, Tony couldn't help but think back to their time in the small dark closet._

...

Ziva chuckled bitterly, bringing me out of my daydream.

"Unless of course they insist on some form of commitment." She countered. I shot her a wry grin.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked her tensely. I could just catch the edge of her grin as she was turned away from me.

"You fear commitment, everyone knows this." She explained. I glared at the back of her head. _Okay so I don't have a good track record but that doesn't mean I can't change….or at least work on it._

"Well I could change and anyways I was referring to my childhood bedroom." I countered tensely. She pursed her lips while staring at me. I huffed, glancing away from her piercing gaze.

"It looks like our smugglers have removed most of the cargo so they're probably not coming back." I told her.

"We're still locked in a box and freezing to death." Ziva retorted as she hopped down from her spot.

"Somebody might have heard the gunfire." I told her thoughtfully.

"Well if they did then they would be here by now." she countered.

"Oooh, you know what we could do, fire a couple rounds out of these ventilation shafts and maybe someone could hear us?" I suggested, eagerly pulling my gun out.

"Oh yea maybe they didn't hear the massive fire fight, so let's just waste the little ammunition we have." She agreed, her words heavily dripping with sarcasm. I stared at her quietly. _I thought it was a good idea. And maybe it wasn't but Claire would have taken this much better._

"You know what you're brilliant…genius." She finished, gritting her teeth before stalking to the other end of the box. I stared after her, brows raised in intrigue. It wasn't often she lost her cool so this was a whole new adventure.

"Sarcasm is the refuge of a shallow mind." I called after her. _Claire hates when I quote that cause she's awfully sarcastic sometimes._ Ziva shot me an unamused a look.

"What do you suggest we do?" I asked instead. Ziva sighed, trying to rid herself of the chill.

"I suggest we bust out of here now." She told me decisively.

"Okay Bugsy I'll go take care of the security guard and you take the front gate…" I busted out into my cartoon impression once more, irritating Ziva.

"Hey this is not funny!" she shouted.

"I know!" I shouted back at her. The two of us calmed down and paused a moment. _I was well aware of the situation we were in but freaking out about it wasn't going to get us anywhere. If only I was stuck with Claire…she'd be calm and we could find ways to keep warm…._ I quickly brushed away the thoughts running through my head. It would be hard to explain why I was getting aroused while in a dire situation…and to Ziva no less. That would go over well.

"What we need to do is relax, and remain calm." I placated, while raising my hands towards her soothingly. Ziva stared at me like I was nuts.

"We wait." I told her softly.

"For what?" she questioned stiffly.

"For them to come in with reinforcements?" Ziva inquired tensely. I bit the inside of my cheek.

"For Gibbs." I told her easily.

"Trust me, he'll find us." I assured. Along with Claire and McGee of course. I'm sure they've noticed out absence by now…well at least Claire would have. Ziva closed her eyes and slid down the side of the container.

"I believe you." She calmly replied, blowing out a breath of air.

"The question is, will it be before we freeze to death?" she asked me quietly. I didn't answer.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at NCIS Gibbs was meeting with someone over MTAC regarding the while cargo situation that Ziva and Tony were sent to investigate.

"Our information was wrong Gibbs. The container wasn't filled with of small arms. It was a shipment of explosives." The man began.

"C4?" Gibbs asked, looking up from the file.

"Worse. Unexploded KGU cluster bomblets." The man answered.

"From where?"

"Iraq" he answered lowly.

"Al Qaida sends members to collect the bomblets. Some of them end up dead, the lucky ones crippled. These bomblets are…."

"Highly unstable?" Gibbs guessed, pursing his lips and nodding.

"Yea I'd say that's worse." He agreed.

"Intelligence on the cargo think they may have been loaded on a Senegalese ship last week." The man elaborated.

"Last week? Why are we just hearing about this today?" Gibbs questioned.

"You ever work with the French Gibbs?" the man asked tiredly.

"Yea. A few times." Gibbs told him knowingly.

"Then you know what I'm up against." The man chuckled. McGee came flying into the meeting room. He stood quietly beside Gibbs waiting for the right moment to talk to his boss.

"I've got two agents down at the docks. I need more than they may have been loaded on a Senegalese ship, Tom." Gibbs told him pointedly.

"We're working on it Jethro. Just tell your people to be careful." Tom assured.

"What is it now McGee?" he asked, spotting the man standing there nervously. Where was Claire?

"Tony said that they were relocating." He whispered. Gibbs frowned.

"Why?" he asked.

"He said that they had new intel." McGee shrugged. The two stared at one another.

"You waiting for me to say please?" Gibbs asked, waiting for him to continue. McGee glanced at the screen before looking at Gibbs.

"I couldn't make it out, the phone reception was already hinky before we lost them." He whispered apologetically, a bit shaken up by how Claire was reacting to the whole thing. She wasn't blaming him but by how antsy she was, he still felt guilty.

"Well un-lose them. I don't want them touching anything without a bomb squad present." Gibbs warned, letting McGee scurry off.

...

In the box, Tony slowly opened up a crate and gasped in surprise.

"Pinch me now. Another crate of movies." He mused elatedly, and tossed the top aside as he dug into the goodies.

"Lllloookkk at them all." He sang.

"Maybe there's a crate full of DVD players in here." He wondered, looking at the unopened boxed thoughtfully as Ziva snapped pictures with her phone.

"Oh let's not forget the battery operated generators and the popcorn machines." she chimed in sarcastically. Tony frowned before looking back into the crate. She was being no fun.

"It's all Indian, Bollywood, no subtitles." Ziva tossed the case back in with the others in disinterest.

"Its low on the list of genres I know but extremely babe heavy. Where are the small arms?" Tony questioned, thinking back to what they had been sent to find.

"Why would they shoot at us over copies of Cuch Cuch Hota High?" he wondered.

"Does it matter? We need to get out of here Tony." Ziva reminded him.

"Yea I heard that the first fifty times you said it." He quipped.

"Hey you're not claustrophobic are you?" he randomly inquired, shining the light at her face. Ziva blinked heavily and turned her face away from the offending light.

"No." she muttered.

"Because I'm telling you it would be another nail in the shoe of my day." He remarked with an Indian accent. Ziva knelt down to look at the bottom of the door curiously.

"What if we blew a hole at the bottom of this door where the bolt is?" she mused.

"Por qua?" Tony asked in French.

"It might enable us to jam something under it and force it open." She told him, already getting up to do that while Tony was distracted by the movies.

"Not liking it, firing a bullet in here its bound to ricochet…." Suddenly sparks flew as Ziva's bullet began to ricochet around the container. Ziva tackled Tony to avoid getting hit. The man groaned from the force and lied underneath her uncomfortably as she remained on top of him.

"As I was saying there's a chance the bullet might ricochet in here and kill one of us." Tony hissed.

"Sorry." She muttered, but remained where she was.

"Why are you on top of me?" he asked, thoroughly uncomfortable.

"I'm protecting you Tony." She quipped smugly.

"Don't." he countered, his arms still splayed out on either side of him, unsure of what to do with the woman lying on top of him.

"Well you didn't seem to mind when we were undercover." She pointed out coyly.

"Well it might have something to do with the fact the it was not you and she was naked." He groaned from the weight. Ziva rose a brow at his slip of the tongue. It made a difference in who it was? Not just a woman?

"Perhaps if it were warmer in here…hmm?" she mused, lifting her head just enough to hover her face over his. Tony hummed and breathed heavily as he frowned up at her.

"Let me rephrase the question. Why are you still on top of me?" he asked her uncomfortably. She smiled down at him in amusement.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

McGee had a map of the dock yard up on the plasma. While he was up getting Gibbs from MCTAC I was left alone to worry about where the two of them were. Usually were pretty good about checking in, but when the GPS signal was lost that's when I began to get nervous. And to learn that instead of small arms that they were coming up against volatile bombs….that was even less comforting.

"The last contact with them was here, the North expansion. They were checking out West African cargo ships that pulled in two days ago." McGee pointed out.

"What about the GPS stuff in their phones?" Gibbs questioned.

"That's the thing. I know the cellphone reception is bad around the docks but the GPS chip should not be affected, they're connected to a separate satellite network so it should have picked them up anyway." McGee rambled.

"Should?" Gibbs questioned.

"For some reason, we cant." I explained briefly. McGee was trailing behind Gibbs but jumped back when he whipped around to stare at him. Gibb backed him up a couple steps with his icy glare.

"Phones…phones could be turned off. Chips could be disabled, they could be in a structure that is blocking the GPS signal." McGee stuttered nervously. Gibbs gestured for us to follow as he walked towards the windows

"Like the hold of a ship?" Gibbs asked.

"Um possibly, I'm thinking they might be waiting to get to a better cell reception area before calling in." McGee suggested.

"Maybe doesn't cut it you two should have let me know." Gibbs countered sternly and walked back to his desk. McGee sighed as we followed.

"I know…uh…see the thing is you were busy boss. You were in the restroom." McGee explained as Gibbs gathered up his coat.

"You ever had a conversation in the head McGee?" Gibbs asked him. McGee thought for a moment.

"One time I did. But the person I was talking to was so distracted. My shoes….it was like a nightmare.." he rambled on but stopped when Gibbs walked up to slap him on the back of the head.

"You're right….I should have let you know." McGee admitted.

"Don't apologize, it's a sign of weakness." Gibbs pointed a finger at him. McGee nodded and grabbed his gear to chase after. I had already grabbed mine and rushed after Gibbs.

"Gibbs I don't like this. I know Tony is responsible but honestly I would worry about him messing with things once they find out what's in there." I finally voiced. Gibbs patted my shoulder comfortingly, obviously picking up on my distress.

"Let's find them before DiNozzo blows both his arms off." He quipped as he stormed towards the elevators. I sighed and dashed after him.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back in the crate Tony grunted as he knocked over a large crate of DVDs onto the floor. He huffed heavily as the two shone their lights onto the cases scattered about.

"This doesn't make any sense." Tony told her.

"Maybe this isn't the container they used to smuggle their weapons." Ziva proposed.

"But it's the only container that wasn't sealed, the rest of them are closed." He countered as he looked over the panels in the ceiling looking for some type of indications that weapons were stored.

"They unloaded them already?" Ziva suggested.

"It might explain how they got automatic weapons." Tony mused and walked to the front of the box thoughtfully.

"We're missing something." He pointed out as he scanned everything under the beam from the flashlight as he walked along the wall.

"Besides warmth?" Ziva asked sarcastically. He paused as the door of the box and turned to face her.

"Ziva David. Does this….space seem different to you?" he inquired and began using his feet to measure the distance of the box, putting one directly in front of the other as he walked.

"Define different." She watched him curiously.

"Does it seem smaller than the outside dimension?" he asked, still making his way to the back.

"Usually containers are 40 feet long. This ones only 34 on the inside." He explained as he reached the end. Reaching up he rapped his knuckles on the side, getting a metal clang. He then knocked on the back and got a hollow thud. Instantly they both started looking for something leading to the other side.

"Somebody's been doing renovations." Tony mused. He knocked on it once more.

"It's plywood." Ziva realized. They both stood back and Tony raised his leg up to kick in a panel on the wall. The bottom panel easily shifted under his weight and he brushed the wood piece inward like a small door.

"Not bad, I can almost forgive you now." Ziva praised briefly as they crouched to look through the open hole.

"For what?" he asked in confusion.

"For locking us in this box." She quipped. Tony shot her a frown.

"Ladies first." He instructed. Ziva slipped her way past the panel and read over the inscriptions on the boxed in the small room with only her flashlight brightening the area around here.

"What do you see?" Tony asked from the other side.

"Trouble. Arabic script." She informed him, turning to look at another set of boxes. Tony carefully tried to get his broader frame into the cramped space as she moved around.

"What does is say?" he inquired.

"This end up…..handle with care…caution…explosives." She listed off warily.

"A bomb?" Tony suggested.

"I think so, yes." She sighed.

"And uh…what does this say?" he asked warily, shining the light onto a small inscription in the corner. Ziva pursed her lips and let out a slow breath.

"Death to America." She answered. Tony nodded and eyed the boxes around them.

"Ah….great. you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked her.

"Perhaps…..if it involves a violent and….painful death." She nodded solemnly.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

Against better judgement Ziva and I went to work uncovering the boxes in the small room. We had scaled one of the lower segments and were up against the ceiling trying to open up the top box. Honestly I didn't realize how nimble I was at times. We were pretty contorted in the cramped space. I guess all that Pilate stuff Claire does…..that I may or may not participate with her at home…is starting to pay off in some way.

"Careful, it may be booby trapped a dozen different ways." Ziva warned as she watched my hands carefully, shining the light for me. _Well that's comforting._

"So why are we opening it again?" I asked, focusing on gently prying the nails out with my pocket knife.

"Because if it is a bomb, it may be armed." She explained. I let out a nervous breath.

"Well listen if this thing goes off….I just want you to know.."

"This is not your fault I know." Ziva quickly cut me off. I brows rose up incredulously, but she couldn't see because I was facing away from her.

"No, I was just going to say that life would have had more meaning if you'd slept with me." I corrected cheekily.

"If you had anything else on your mind perhaps I would have." She told me easily.

"Really?"

"Um no." she shut me down. Figured.

"Ready?" she asked when she saw he was near the end.

"Hold on." I muttered and winced as I finally pulled out the last nail in the corner. I sighed, handing it back to Ziva so she could toss it out for me. Well her goes nothing. I grunted as I closed the pocket knife and placed it back into my coat pocket as best I could in the limited amount of space we had to work with.

"Alright." I whispered, shooting her a glance before placing both hands on the edge of the box. If I die opening this up then I blame Ziva. Man if I blow myself up Claire would never forgive me.

"Up an inch." I informed her and strained to lift the lid with as little movement as possible. Ziva quickly looked under it for any wires.

"No visible wires, proceed." She assured. With that I lifted the lid up even farther.

"Oh my god." Ziva gasped as she looked inside.

"Well I didn't expect to see that." I agreed with wide eyes. Inside was stacks upon stacks of American money.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"There's got to be millions in here." Tony told her as the two crawled out into the larger space of the container.

"More than enough to bankroll one hell of a terrorist stunt. These DVD's were just decoys to get through customs." He added. They both slumped against the container wall once they were out. Tony sighed and toyed with the stacks of thousand dollar bills in his hand.

"I'll tell you what. When we get out of here I'm gonna buy you a house." he told her smugly, smiling at the bills. Ziva chuckled. Tony's smile dropped.

"But it's going to have to be a fake house, because these are counterfeit." He corrected. Ziva shot him a glance.

"How can you tell?" she asked skeptically.

"The treasury ran a workshop with us. First, they're freshly printed."

"The treasury prints millions every day." Ziva deadpanned.

"So do countries like Syria and North Korea. The 100 dollar bill hasn't been redesigned since '96 which means it's very vulnerable to this kind of counterfeit." He told her. Ziva stared at him wide eyes.

"Still that doesn't explain how you know they're fake." She pointed out.

"The ink…smells." He explained, handing her one to sniff. She did and shook her head nonchalantly.

"Yes…the ink." She handed it back to him, not getting the point of his argument.

"Well our money doesn't smell." He continued, and dug around in his pocket to pull out a bill.

"Here, try it." He held out the wadded dollar to her. She glared at him in annoyance but did so anyway. Immediately Ziva recoiled. Tony frowned at the disgust in her voice.

"Oh that smells like stale alcohol and…..your armpit." She grimaced handing it back to him. Tony glared at her and sniffed it lightly, recoiling a little himself before pocketing it.

"Well the point is that it doesn't smell like ink." He dismissed, getting back to the real problem at hand. She frowned at him, still not convinced. Tony pulled out the single bill from the stack and handed the rest to her.

"Now there's only one way to know for sure. if it burns orange, its real." He explained as he lit a match and held it to the bill. Once it caught it burned a bright blue and yellow. Tony pursed his lips and dropped the bill before stomping out the flame. Ziva nodded in approval, now convinced that the bills were fake.

"Impressive. But irrelevant because real or not real our friends are coming back to it." She pointed out.

"They may already be here." Tony added thoughtfully.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Down at the dock security office Gibbs, McGee and I were talking with the chief about our missing agents.

"Your people checked in with me at 7:06. DiNozzo and David right?" he checked with us.

"They're surveying a shipment with illegal contraband from west Africa right?" the man continued.

"That's them." I nodded.

"Well they're stationed out by the dock on the north expansion." He read off.

"Not anymore." Gibbs shot him down.

"They changed their post." McGee added. _Leave it to Tony to take off without double checking…but then again, I don't totally blame him. Except for this situation. He was totally getting an earful if we get him back in one piece._

"Well you see this is why…I….I made it very clear to them that any change of plans goes through this office." He whined, like a chaperone watching little kids would do.

"Where are they now?" he asked, turning to Gibbs.

"Well that would be the purpose of this visit Mr. Lake, we lost contact." Gibbs droned as he scanned over a computer at the desk.

"So for all we know they're out there wandering around somewhere lost." Mr. Lake complained.

"Our people don't get lost." I countered pointedly. _What were we children?_

"Agent Conners this is one of the largest ports on the east coast, believe me it happens all the time." Mr. Lake dismissed with a laugh. He turned to one of the guards in the office.

"Matthew we lost a couple of feds. Do me a favor and take a team with you and sweep the sectors by the north expansion. Call me when you find them." He instructed. The man nodded before heading off.

"You're welcome to wait here while we locate them." Mr. Lake told us politely.

"Mr. Lake it would be helpful if we could review the security camera footage." McGee suggested.

"Yea sure I'll have one of my techs work on it. Hey what kind of contraband were they looking for?" he asked McGee who pursed his lips at the man's nonchalant attitude _. We were missing agents who wer hanging around bombs without knowing it. No time to be so flippant about this._

"Armed shipment. Explosives." Gibbs answered as he looked out the large window.

"What ship? We're going to have to lock it down and search it container by container." Mr. Lake insisted as he sat down at his station once more.

"Our intel indicates that it might be the Senegalese." McGee answered. Mr. Lake looked up at him in disbelief.

"Might be? So you don't have any idea?" he asked incredulously.

"No, we don't. Not yet." I told him.

"Do you have any idea how busy we are here? Right now, we got 3 ships sailing under the Senegalese flag and two more coming in on Thursday." He listed off.

"Well we have two missing agents who are dealing with explosives and may not know it, thus getting them killed. So I don't see how you're problems trump ours." I countered irritably. They all stared at me silently, obviously surprised by my outburst. Realizing that I was letting my emotions slip out I bit my cheek to prevent saying anything more.

"Well how accurate is your intelligence?" he questioned quietly. Gibbs just stared at him, not wanting to answer. Mr. Lake scoffed out a laugh.

"Do you guys know how many bolos I get in one week? How many of them turn out to be false alarms? I'm gonna need more than chatter before we disrupt the port" the man told Gibbs pointedly.

"Yea? Well I need to find my people." Gibbs countered before dialing a number and walking out, me following closely behind. Mr. Lake turned to McGee curiously.

"Are they always like that?" he inquired.

"Yea pretty much." McGee confirmed before following.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

I was pulling out stacks of money, trying to see how much they were smuggling in.

"800…..20….300.." I muttered quietly under my breath.

"Counting your riches King Cole?" Ziva inquired as she was moving around boxes or something.

"Midas." I corrected and tried to continue.

"King Cole had a merry old soul." I explained. I frowned and put the money aside trying to remember where I left off. _Dang it….._

"100….20 million…" I growled irritably; I had lost my train of thought. _After all that hard work, I have to start all over again._

"Thanks now I have to start all over again." I pouted, not looking forward to doing all that math all over again.

"Good. Now you can you can put yourself to good use." She mused.

"Doing what?" I scoffed.

"Helping me set up this defensive perimeter." She answered, standing up to turn and face me.

"Ah….actually I was warming to your earlier idea of getting us out of here. If we burn these bills…."

"We'll die of smoke inhalation, Tony." Ziva cut me off pointedly. _Well she's no fun._

"Oh no no no no…..look up." I gestured to the ventilation holes in the top corners of the crate.

"Heat rises, right, so the smoke is going to go out these ventilation slots and draw attention to our position. Not to mention the added benefit of heat production." I finished proudly. _It was a genius idea if I ever heard one._ Ziva shot me a deadpan glare.

"Are you serious?" she asked incredulously.

"Well it makes more sense than firing a gun inside a metal box now doesn't it?" I countered dryly, earning a real glare from her. _I got her there._ Without further ado I dumped a ton of bills onto the floor, kneeling next to it.

"Now don't worry about a thing, the worst that can happen is it gets a little smoky in here." I chirped while lighting one of the bills on fire with my spare matches.

"Its kinda fun." I added with a teasing grin.

"Um it's a little crazy actually." Ziva told me pensively. I laughed mock evilly as the bills began to burn brighter and brighter. _Crazy is my middle name._

"Now that feels good." I hummed as the heat began to come off the paper.

"Well it's a little warmer." Ziva acknowledged, starting to warm her hands. Suddenly a pop was heard as the bills shot out a bit of flame, making the two of us start in surprise.

"Whoa, hey that's a lot of fire." Ziva warned as the flame continued to get larger.

"Here we go, out the ventilation shafts." I encouraged, wafting the smoke out the vents. Ziva coughed as she joined in with waving her hands. _No big deal, just a little smoke…._ As the fire continued I began coughing. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea_. Seeing no point in continuing the two of us decided to stomp out the fire a bit. All the while we continued coughing and swatting away the embers flying up in our faces.

"Its ok." I assured as I whined while trying to get away from the smoke. It was a bit difficult considering we were in a small space. Looking down at my jacket I frowned. _Claire just bought me this jacket and now it was getting all smudgy…_

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in Abby's lab she casually sipped on her Caf-pow while on the phone with Gibbs.

"I can barely hear you Gibbs where are you?" she questioned.

"Norfolk port authorities. We're sending over surveillance…..to….." Gibbs was breaking up.

"Surveillance what?" she asked.

"..videos. I want you to look at this morning's ….of the north…..ep….." Gibbs continued as he kept breaking up. Abby shook her head in confusion as she was hardly understanding any of what he was saying.

"For what exactly?" she asked loudly.

"For Tony and Ziva." He informed.

"Tony and Ziva aren't here, Gibbs." Abby sighed in confusion.

"I know that Abby that's why we're looking for them." Gibbs groaned.

"Are they missing?" she inquired. Gibbs rolled his eyes and dialed a number on the landline of the office.

"Hold on Gibbs I've got another call coming in." she told him before switching over.

"Abby Sciuto NCIS.."

"Find Tony and Ziva, Abbs." Gibbs instructed before she could continue.

"The videos are on their way to you right now." He added. Abby glared at the space in front of her.

"Can I talk to Claire?" she requested.

"Why?" Gibbs asked.

"Because I need to know what…codac they use for the video.." she trailed off lamely. Gibbs sighed and banged the receiver onto he metal desk, making Abby flinch from the noise. McGee and Claire turned to look at him curiously. Gibbs shot a pointed look at Claire and shook the phone out in her direction. She quickly answered the phone handed to her.

"Hello?" Claire answered.

"What happened to Tony and Ziva?" Abby demanded instantly.

"Uh Abby it's not a really good time right now." Claire stuttered as she watched Gibbs stare at her from across the desk.

"You better call me as soon as you're Gibbs free." She insisted.

"Ok I will." Claire told her quietly as Gibbs paced around, watching her intently the whole time.

"Promise me." Abby pushed.

"Abby, I promise ok." Claire assured her quietly before hanging up.

"Ok transfer complete. Copies of all our security footage since the time your agents arrived." Mr. Lake informed, taking a seat back at his desk.

"Where are the Senegalese ships docked?" Gibbs asked.

"Here's 5-Alpha, 3-Tango, and 6-Delta." He listed off, showing diagrams.

"I wanna see them." Gibbs ordered before rushing out the door.

"That means we go with him." Claire told the man pointedly before chasing after Gibbs. Mr. Lake groaned before reluctantly trudging after the agents.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV**

In the crate Ziva coughed as Tony swept the ashes from the failed smoke attempt aside.

"Definitely your worst idea yet." She growled.

"No, my worse idea was challenging a date to an oyster eating contest." Tony countered thoughtfully.

 _Flashback:_

 _Just last month Tony had taken Claire out to a restaurant out of the city, that way no one they knew would see them. That and he liked to spoil her on occasion and this was one of those times. He had taken her to a restaurant near the beach, thus they were dressed more casually. Tony didn't mind however as he liked it better when they were laid back, it felt normal to be with her like that. As they were gazing over their menus a specific add caught his eye._

 _"Hey there's an all you can eat oyster special today. I think we should get some." He pointed out casually, shooting a sly glance in her direction. Claire pursed her lips._

 _"I don't know…." She hummed._

 _"Well I hear they are great for your health." He tried again. Claire frowned and stared at him curiously._

 _"You're not interested in eating healthy." She deadpanned. Tony stared at her in mock offense._

 _"That hurts. Of course I care about…..health." he countered lamely. Claire grinned at him._

 _"You just found out they were an aphrodisiac, didn't you?" she asked knowingly. Tony had the decency to blush._

 _"That…wh….no.." he dismissed with a scoff. Claire didn't buy it._

 _"I see what this is all about." She giggled._

 _"So, does that mean you're up to the task? I mean I'm a very virile specimen so it would take a lot of oysters to keep up." He teased lowly. Claire bit the inside of her cheek._

 _"I beg to differ. Besides we both know that I can put food away better than you can so I guess you'll be the one bailing out first tonight." Claire slyly slipped her foot out of her sandal and began running her toes along the inside of his thigh under the table. Tony jumped but chuckled at her teasing._

 _"Don't start what you can't finish." He purred, leaning towards her with his menu now forgotten._

 _"Funny that was what I was going to say to you." She grinned devilishly. The waiter sidled up to their table, asking for their orders._

 _"Two of the oyster specials please." Claire chirped, as if nothing had happened. Tony was not as composed so he remained silent. All the teasing was starting to get to his head and they hadn't even touched the oysters yet. However, as they were both fairly competitive the night did not end as they anticipated. By the time, they arrived home from the restaurant, both were way to full to do anything other than lie on the couch. They both got a laugh out of the evening and just remained cuddled up on the couch, sleeping off their food babies._

...

"The air in here is like soup." Ziva complained. She pulled against one of the large crates, groaning in efferent but it didn't move.

"Do you want to give me a hand with this?" she spat in exasperation, she dark smoke smudges covering her face gave her a more exhausted look.

"Sure." he sighed, sauntering over.

"Do riddle me this bat girl…." He groaned as he started tolling the box towards the middle.

"…how does one wrangle an invite to your place?" he inquired.

"Why? Feel a little left out Tony?" she asked smugly, reaching over to assist in the moving.

"I mean McGee…I can understand he's a good guest. I bet he brought a bottle of wine." Tony assumed, pushing it over once more.

"and dessert." Ziva added. Tony barely refrained from rolling his eyes.

"Yea no surprise there, but Palmer? I've had more stimulating conversations with cats." Tony droned, staring down at her curiously.

"I like him, and he was very helpful to me." She explained vaguely.

"How?" Tony inquired.

"He tuned my piano." Ziva answered shortly. Tony stared at her with a confused grin as she stalked to the other side.

"I used to play piano." He admitted softly.

"Not anymore?" she asked. Tony leaned his forearms atop the crate thoughtfully.

"My mother forced me to take lessons with this woman who used to….hit me with a ruler whenever I made a mistake. I haven't played since." He hummed with a far-off look. Claire had attempted to get him to take it up again before realizing the memories it brought back were too hard for him to deal with. Anything involving his mother was a sensitive topic. Ziva stared at him curiously, not used to the vulnerable expression he was sporting.

"Were you any good?" she asked.

"Yea she was." Tony answered distractedly. Ziva stared at him as he was lost in memories of his mother.


	47. Chapter 47

[Boxed In:2]

...

 **Tony's POV:**

What seemed like ages later Ziva was groaning as she pushed her shoulder against another box. We had just about finished with her defensive fortress of the boxes.

"Very well done darling but where are we going to put the divan?" I quipped in a British accent.

"Actually, you know it looks pretty good. I particularly like your firing slots." I complimented as I looked over her fortification of the boxes, complete with holes for them to shoot through.

"Of course against automatic weapons it will disintegrate in 30 seconds." She sighed, peering through the hole at me. _And there's Debby Downer once again._

"Well yea. What is it about danger and uncertainty that makes me feel so…"

"Horny?" Ziva suggested dryly.

"Hungry. I would kill for a pizza right now." I shot her a disapproving look. Did she really think so little of me? I stared at her, my lips quirking a little as she stared at me seriously. It was starting to freak me out.

"What?" I asked.

"You don't have to joke about it." She told me sincerely.

"Its alright to admit you're scared." She added. I chucked humorlessly. _I do not like this heartfelt vibe she was putting off. Tony doesn't do mushy emotional talks._ I stood up and leaned my shoulder against the crate.

"You've obviously never seen a Steve McQueen movie." I pointed out. Ziva stared up at the ceiling in exasperation.

"Why must you equate everting in life to your stupid movies?" she asked tiredly.

"See that's your problem. You have no fantasy life. This is why I like being with Claire more often, she isn't a buzzkill." I pointed out. Ziva gasped dramatically.

"Oh, you could be more wrong." She chuckled with a scoff. I smiled in amusement at her. Was Ms. David starting to loosen up. This should be interesting.

"Huh really. Ok then let's throw one out there. Let's hear a Ziva David fantasy." I prodded lowly.

"It concerns you." She informed. My brows rose in interest.

"Ooo I'm all ears." I insisted. She leaned closer to me, piquing my interest even more.

"And a sumo wrestler." Ziva added. _Too much information_. My smile instantly dropped into more of a grimace.

"You can stop there." I told her in disgust, pushing off the crate to move away from her.

"You see its all about hot women and brave men to you. Anything deeper and you shut it down." Ziva scolded. I shook my head.

"That's not true." I insisted with a soft grin. _I can get deep with the right person. Now that I think about it Claire and Gibbs are really the only people I have been able to do it with. Gibbs just kinda stares into my soul until I crack and Claire…..she just makes me want to tell her things. She doesn't push often and I appreciate that. But if Ziva thinks a little time trapped together is going to get me to spill my guts then she is mistaken._

"I like a lot of deep movies. Pick a genre, any genre." I insisted as she followed after me.

"Best eating movie?" She instantly asked. Weird but ok.

"Night of the living dead. I'm kidding." I amended at her disgruntled look.

"Tom Jones…Eating as Sex." I answered seriously.

"Best sex movie." She shot off.

"Body Heat. William Hurt, Cathleen Turner. I like the whole sweaty chairs through glass doors thing." I grinned impishly.

"Yea well I prefer the air conditioner on and if anyone threw a chair through my door I would probably….shoot them." Ziva chuckled. I grinned at her curiously.

"Did you just reveal something about your sex life?" I asked in amusement.

"Obliquely." She muttered.

"I'm stunned because you never talk about yourself, why is that?" I questioned intently. If she was going to play 20 questions then so was I.

"Maybe I like a little privacy." she suggested. Tony shrugged.

"Yea I get that but….we could die here. I mean we're in a cold metal box, so give me something. Happiest moment, most embarrassing moment, the first time you learned that daddy wasn't perfect." Ziva had been chuckling in amusement up until the last one. Her expression instantly hardened. I stared at her, knowing I had hit a nerve. Ziva glared and scurried away from his gaze. I sighed as I turned to face her.

"Ok…I'll tell you mine." I amended.

"We're not sharing." She scolded. Suddenly we both were knocked backwards as the whole container shuddered. I grunted from the sudden jerk and lowered myself, trying to stay balanced. Once the initial shock was over we listened to the machinery and felt the light sway of movement.

"We're being lifted by a forklift." Ziva explained.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs skidded out of the way of a large forklift carrying a container before parking in the center of the lot near one of the Senegalese ships.

"See if you can find their vehicle McGee." Gibbs ordered as we all piled out of the car.

"On it." he nodded before walking off. Gibbs reached into the glove compartment to pull out his binoculars.

"What time is that ship scheduled to be underway?" he asked, looking out to the closest Senegalese ship.

"Um they're still offloading so sometime tomorrow afternoon." Mr. Lake answered.

"Hey boss I found it." McGee called. I instantly darted in that direction, trying not to make it look like I was anxious to get there. I mean I wasn't…..nervous, probably but anxious….I wasn't there quite yet. Gibbs and Mr. Lake jogged over behind me to meet him.

"Its locked." McGee informed. Gibbs bent down to peer into the car for any indications of where they went. It was empty as far as far as we could see.

"Find them McGee, spread out." Gibbs ordered before we took off in different directions. Mr. Lake trailed behind Gibbs and I.

"How many times do these containers come and go on a given day?" I asked.

"We stock um….thousands." the man answered. Gibbs spotted something on the ground and crouched down.

"You know what this is?" Gibbs asked, pointing to the red puddle on the cement.

"That's a blood trail." Mr. Lake answered lowly.

"You still think this is just chatter Mr. Lake?" I asked the man pointedly.

"Boss." McGee called from the other end of the blood trail.

"What do you got McGee?" Gibbs asked rushing over. As we approached, McGee said nothing but looked over at the dead man in between the containers. It wasn't Tony but this new discovery did nothing to settle my nerves.

...

The three of us were in investigative mode now that there was a body found. We had set to work bringing in the officers from the patrol and marking the crime scene.

"This is where the blood trail stops boss." McGee indicated.

"You mean starts." Gibbs corrected.

"Yes, that's what I mean." he amended before getting into our findings.

"Now I broke this area into four sections. Area one here is where the actions seems to have been centered. We recovered three different types of brass." McGee explained as we walked Gibbs over to where the shell casings were, talking loudly over the forklifts that had been coming through.

"Must have been one hell of a gunfight." he mused.

"Yea well I bet Tony and Ziva thought so, McGee." I quipped.

"They were right here." Gibbs stood, looking around at what their agents point of view would have been.

"And we recovered the other two types of brass from over where the blood trail started and right there." McGee pointed in the two opposing directions from where they were standing. Gibbs frowned at him.

"They were caught in a crossfire." He mused, holding his hands out in different directions. I wasn't so sure about that as I assumed there would be more blood. I mean there was no coverage where we were standing. However, this alarmed McGee.

"Wait, boss, boss….you don't…..you don't think they're…" he trailed off worriedly. I whipped around to stare at him incredulously, the very thought making my stomach churn violently.

"McGee that's not funny. Don't talk like that." I countered sternly. Gibbs stared at him.

"But I just mean, should we put divers in the water or?..." McGee muttered, unsure of how to react to Gibb's silence. Gibbs shook his head.

"They're not in the water." he assured but McGee didn't look convinced.

"McGee if they're in the water they'd be dead. if they were dead I'd know about it, they aren't dead." Gibbs told the man, looking dead into his eyes to convey his seriousness. McGee nodded, and Gibbs pat him on the shoulder. I swallowed thickly, trying to calm my nerves. Gibbs turned to look at him sympathetically, I guess I wasn't as subtle as I thought.

"Hey, we will find them." He assured, placing a hand on my shoulder. It was times like these where Gibbs took on that father figure role.

"I know we will…its just the state that we find them in that bothers me." I admitted. Gibbs grinned.

"They'll be fine. DiNozzo isn't dumb enough to get himself killed." Gibbs chuckled. I smiled weakly at the joke….yet why did Gibbs only mention Tony to me? Before I could dwell on that little slip for too long Mr. Lake approached the three of us.

"Alright my people have been rounding up dock workers and so far no one heard any gunfire." He explained.

"I wanna find out if were are any other containers here." Gibbs instructed.

"Well we're compiling a manifest of every container offloaded from the ship. If it left the port, we'll find it." He assured as he walked alongside Gibbs, McGee and I trialing behind.

"If they didn't leave the port?" I asked. Mr. Lake shot me an incredulous look.

"What, you asking me to check every container left in the port?" he scoffed out a laugh.

"No, she's ordering you. Make it happen McGee." Gibbs countered easily, leaving the man to stare at him in shock as me and Gibbs continued on. McGee gestured for Mr. Lake to follow after him in the other direction.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back in the box Tony and Ziva were jostled around as the container continued to move. Ziva was attempting to peer out the ventilation holes while Tony held her in place to keep her steady. His hand placement of choice….firmly on her butt.

"You know under normal circumstances this would be considered fun." Tony teased.

"Yea, well I can't tell where we're going." Ziva groaned as she watched metal building and containers passing by them, unable to get more than a few glimpses out of the small holes.

"Well there's only three ways to get there. Trian…"

"That's quaint we could be like the homos in those old movies." She quipped.

"Hobos, not homos. That would be my third choice." Tony continued.

"By ship?" Ziva suggested.

"That would be my second choice." He answered.

"Days without food or water." she pointed out. suddenly a large bump came and knocked her sideways, sending them both toppling against the wall. Suddenly the feeling smoothed out and they heard another distinct sound of a large engine.

"Sounds like a truck." Ziva told him.

"That was my first choice." Tony commented before leaping up and banging on the paneling.

"Hey get us out of here!" he shouted.

"No! stop it!" Ziva whisper shouted in alarm. Tony turned to stare at her in confusion.

"What? Ok maybe if I fired a shot out of here maybe tey would know we were in here." Tony rambled, gesturing to the vent holes once more.

"That's not a good idea." she insisted in exasperation. Tony stood there dumbly, not understanding why she was shooting him down.

"Ok?" he muttered in confusion.

"You're assuming whoever is driving us doesn't know we are here. If they do they can't leave the port with us on board. They'll take us back inside and they'll deal with us first." She pointed out to him sternly. Tony sighed.

"Right….right…" he mumbled in agreement and began pacing thoughtfully.

"Ok, I have a plan…we build a time machine.." he began dramatically but Ziva held her hand up.

"We could leave a trail." She suggested.

"I'm sorry Gretel but I left all my bread crumbs back at the office." Tony pointed out sarcastically.

"Well then it's a good thing we've got all this dough." She walked over towards the piles of cash. Tony smiled in understanding as they were jostled around once more.

...

"Well I found tony and Ziva on the port videos but I don't feel like its enough." Abby admitted through the video feed on the port screens.

"It's alright Abbs. Just take us through it." Gibbs assured.

"Start with pier three." He instructed, watching the dual screen in the corner that showed the video feed.

"Ok are you getting this too McGee?" Abby asked.

"Yup the transmission is good." He told her as he looked over another laptop beside Gibbs.

"Alright, their car pulled up at 7:57. They got out and then they leave 2 minutes and 32 seconds later." She explained as the others watched it all happen on the feed.

"Was there anyone else in the car?" Gibbs asked. Abby zoomed in to the backseat.

"No." she told him.

"Take me to the other location Abby." He continued on, hoping for some indication as to where they might be.

...

From the truck Ziva was frantically shoving bills out of the ventilation slots.

"Ok, you stick with that I'm going to see if the reception is any better." Tony told, stumbling about as he tried to maintain balance on the swiftly moving vehicle. Tony frowned as it beeped a no service sign.

"Nothing, what we need is a better antenna." He mused.

"Any kind of wire would work. Any kind of conductor really." Tony added on. He then caught sight of Ziva's star of David necklace that was dangling as she tried to shove more money out of the box.

"Hey your necklace, we could attach it to the end of the antenna and slip it out of the slot." He suggested.

"No use it needs to be vertical. The wire cant dangle." She countered, hopping down from the box she had been standing on.

"Well we need to stiffen it Ziva." Tony told her dryly.

"Oh wouldn't that be fun." she mused, thinking it was an innuendo. Tony pursed his lips at her.

"Work with me Ziva." He scolded lightly.

"We could slice the spines off of these DVDs and sandwich it in between." He explained, stumbling back over towards her. A large bump caused her to topple over into the crates.

"You ok?" Tony asked as he got to work slicing up the DVD cases with his knife.

"Yes, we still need something to reflect off." she pointed out as she attempted to unchain her necklace during all the movement.

"The side of the container?" Tony pointed out.

"The angle needs to be precise Tony." Ziva told him seriously.

"The response I'm looking for is 'cool Tony'" he chided her downer attitude.

"I'm saying it might work." She amended.

"When this is all over we're gonna watch Cuch, Cuch Hota High." Tony joked, flashing her the now sliced up cover as he set to work making an antenna.

...

"This is where it gets disturbing. It's like looking at an Escher print. I was able to isolate 4 segments." Abby told them from across the video feed.

"At 8:16 I had them getting out of the north expansion sector. Then at this point they walk out of frame." Abby began, narrating as they saw it happening on the screen.

"Another camera picked them up at 8:19. You see them here, and then here and they have their guns drawn." she told them, watching as Tony and Ziva jogged down the length of the containers with their guns at the ready.

"The problem is that there's another container blocking the camera. Now look at the bottom left corner of your screen." Abby instructed, pulling it up for them. There they could see a familiar man making his way towards their area with his machine gun out before firing.

"Boss that's our dead guy." McGee pointed out as he zoomed in on the face.

"I ran his photo and I've got a positive ID Gibbs. Interpol identified him as Mussa Sangor, a Senegalese citizen. He's on the international terrorist watch list." Abby informed. Mr. Lake came up behind them to watch the screen with a frown.

"Boss, Mussa Sangor has ties to Wilson Ambied. He's…"

"An Al Qaida money man." Gibbs finished, looking over the picture of the man. Claire and McGee shared a wary glance.

"Ambied hit 4 Bali night clubs last year." He elaborated for them.

"That's a good job Abby." Gibbs praised.

"The bad news is, he wasn't alone." Abby countered, pulling up another feed of a man coming from the other direction with a machine gun.

"There's no ID on him yet." She pointed out.

"What else do you got Abby?" Claire questioned, anxious for anything that would help them out.

"Just this." Abby sighed and played the feed. The man in question turned to shoot out the video camera.

"They shot the camera." She threw her hands up. Claire bit her lip and though back through the feeds that Abby had played for them. There had to be something…..anything they could go off of.

"Abby, can you rewind it and pull back to the wide angle?" she requested with a hopeful expression. Abby pulled it up to show just before Tony and Ziva disappeared to the gunfight.

"Can you freeze it there?" Claire told her before nudging McGee aside and pulling photographs.

"Boss I think I know what happened. These are the crime scene photos and this is the feed. Now the container by Ziva is missing. If they were in a crossfire…."

"They'd take cover inside." Gibbs finished, picking up on her train of thought.

"Abby put another Caf-pow on my tab." Gibbs insisted.

"Just one Gibbs?" Abby asked nervously. Gibbs chuckled.

"You haven't found them yet." He reminded. Claire breathed a sigh of relief, just happy that this was going somewhere.

"You know if they are stuck in that container…..I bet Ziva is about ready to kill Tony." She mused, McGee chuckling along with her.

...

In the box Ziva hopped down from looking out the vents to see how Tony was faring.

"How's it coming?" she asked.

"My fingers aren't working." He muttered as he tried to secure the necklace within the binding.

"Do you want me to do it?" she offered.

"Nah I got it, just give me one of your hair squinchy things." He requested holding up a hand. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"The term in scrunchy." She corrected, tossing her hair around as she pulled it out.

"You would think Claire had trained you better." She mused. Tony's eyes widened in panic as he stared up at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, attempting to remain calm. Ziva eyed in warily.

"I just meant with the two of you being friends for so long." She explained slowly. Tony visibly relaxed as he went back to working on his makeshift antenna.

"Ok, now I just got to figure out how to attach this thing to the cellphone." Tony told her as he finished the contraption.

"We may not need to. We now have several hundred thousand dollars out there floating around. Its just a matter of time before they find us." Ziva remined as she shoved out another round of bills, eyeing him skeptically at his odd reaction.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Night had fallen and the we were all getting restless in the port authority room. It took forever for us to even begin to identify the container that Tony and Ziva were probably in and not one step closer to finding them. I know the two of them were probably fine but I couldn't help but worry. It was cold, they had been there for hours, and without any definitive evidence we have no idea what state they were in. Right now as long as we kept them alive I was happy.

"The symbol the company uses is this type of container I can give. The only problem is without a tracking number I can't tell you where the hell this one went." Mr. Lake explained, showing us the logo.

"McGee?" Gibbs questioned.

"We got 6 teams covering the gates out of the port they're intercepting each container with those markings." He rattled off.

"What about the ones still on port?" I inquired, looking to Mr. Lake.

"Used by this same company?...uh approximately 862." He read off from the computer database.

"We only need one." Gibbs told him.

"Well they're spread out all over the complex, it would take days to search them." The man sighed. He was being awfully negative about all this.

"We may not have to Lake, how much does one of these things weigh?" Gibbs asked, staring back at the photos on the screen.

"I don't know, about 5 tons." He answered.

"I can't imagine they're easy to move." Gibbs mused.

"Of course not, there's only two ways. A crane or a top loader forklift." The man answered.

"There's no crane in range of the crime scene." McGee pointed out.

"So it had to be moved by a top loader. And we only have 10 of those with maybe 25 qualified operators to drive them." Mr. Lake added as he was struck with the idea.

"Kristen, get me a list of top loader forklifts that operate the northeast expansion today, plus I want names of all the drivers." He ordered eagerly.

"We find the forklift…"

"We find who moved it." McGee muttered. Gibbs paced around the room, hating to be standing around while I massaged my temples tiredly.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

"We are backing up, almost done?" Ziva questioned tensely as we could hear the heavily accented man shouting orders outside.

"I just got to figure out how to attach it." I told her.

"I may be able to help you with that." She suggested, sitting down and rolling up her pant legs past her knees. I looked at her in confusion, what was she doing exactly?

"What?" she asked, taking a band aid off her knee and handing it to me. However I was staring at the marks underneath the band-aid.

"Friction burns." I muttered, staring at her knee.

"Yea what difference does it make?" she dismissed.

"Uh….it doesn't I'm just wondering how you got them." I dismissed casually, still eyeing her knee as loads of theories filtered through my brain. Just thinking about Ziva doing normal human stuff gave me a sick feeling.

"Well if we live long enough maybe I'll tell you someday." She quipped.

"You know I can only think of two ways. Either you, McGee and Palmer were playing twister last night…." I trailed off as I attached the antenna.

"What's a twister?" she questioned, standing back up. I winced, thinking of the only other option I could come up with. I will never be able to get that image out of my head.

"Ok, that means you were having…." I was cut off by a sudden jerk at the truck parked. The sound of the large door closing up the warehouse was heard as we remained frozen. From outside we could hear shouting and the creaking of the door as it was being unbolted.

"If you're going to make that phone call, now is the time to do it." Ziva warned.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In the office, Gibbs, Claire, and McGee were informing the search party of what to look for.

"I want every building swept, room to room. Vacant ones first." Gibbs told the group.

"Cell reception is unreliable in the area, so all movement will be communicated by radio the tactical frequency is 2 admittance 4." McGee added.

"Go. Find them." Claire ushered them out.

"Hey Gibbs, we only had 2 top loaders working the north expansion today. One at pier 7 offloading a ship and the other is at an auxiliary house." Mr. Lake informed as the agents cleared out, pointing out the placements on the map.

"Now the drivers should still be with the rig, I can send some of my people…"

"We got it, let's roll." Claire cut him off and made her way out. Gibbs and McGee shared a surprised look at how quick she was to dart off in search for Tony and Ziva. Mr. Lake looked at them questioningly. The two agents just shrugged and walked out after Claire, not daring to contradict her at the moment.

...

Ziva was leaning up against the wall, listening to the dialogue outside of the container.

"Do you understand that gibberish?" Tony asked her.

"A little." She murmured.

"What is he saying?" he asked, watching his phone for any indication of service.

"They're either discussing making a scone or the best way to murder us." She told him casually, making her way back over towards him. He shot her an incredulous look.

"It's a complicated language." Ziva defended testily.

"Well I'd go with number two." Tony pointed out.

"Me too. Get any reception?" she asked, watching him toy with his phone and the makeshift antenna.

"Negative, I'm gonna have to stick this antenna out of one of the ventilation slots." Tony informed. Just then the door to the container was creaking open. Ziva sprung towards the crates she had arranged while Tony ducked down in the back with the phone, reaching for his gun just in case.

"Come out of the container now." A heavily accented man, Wilson, instructed the agents inside.

"What was that? Speak up." Ziva yelled back as she made her way to the top of one of the barriers she had made inside. A pause was heard.

"I said come out now woman." The man ordered, walking closer to the doors.

"Come out now, or we will come in." he added, getting closer and closer. Ziva stared at the sliver of floor showing just below the doors and aimed her gun.

"What is your answer?" the Wilson demanded. A foot showed appeared in the space she was aiming at.

"This." She muttered under her breath before shooting him in the foot. Screams of pain and anguish were heard as the doors were quickly sealed shut once more.

"Make your call we only have a couple of minutes now." Ziva told Tony as she hopped down from her perch. Tony nodded and stuck the wire out of the ventilation holes. He pressed the first number on his speed dial and prayed that it went through.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

In the car Gibbs was speeding down through the port. I nervously bit my lip trying to keep my emotions in check.

"Ok I think we turn up here past this next row of warehouses." McGee informed, glancing down at the directions.

"Think McGee?" Gibbs asked skeptically.

"Well boss maybe if you'd slow down a little, I…I'd…" he was cut off as Gibbs sped up, pushing McGee backwards in the seat. I grinned in amusement. Suddenly my phone began to vibrate and I answered without looking at the ID.

"Yea, Conners." I answered.

"Claire it's me!" Tony's broken voice came from the other end.

"Tony." I shouted in relief at hearing his voice. Gibbs slammed on the breaks and whipped around to listen in.

"Hon it's a long story but s….version is that we…. Trapped…filled with millions….us bills in…..building." Tony quickly rambled. I frowned at the garbled speech on the line. Something was preventing a clear signal.

"Your connection is broken Tony, say it again." I told him.

"If you…..me…..money…." Tony continued desperately, I wasn't sure that he could hear anything from my end either.

"Money?" I asked in confusion.

"Follow the money!" Tony shouted. Suddenly I could hear Ziva's voice warning him to get down on the other end.

"Tony keep the damn phone on and Abby will find you." I shouted sternly. I was not about to lose him again. A garble of words could be heard from Tony, none that I could even begin to decipher. Before I could get another word in Ziva shouted his name in alarm and the call cut off.

"Tony?! Tony! Damnit!" I growled, pulling at my hair in frustration.

"See if you can get him back on that thing." Gibbs ordered McGee, me tossing him the phone. Gibbs stepped out of the car and scanned around the area before getting gin and taking off in their previous direction.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

This time around the men slowly opened the container doors using long rope so as not to get shot again. Tony and Ziva were hunkered down behind the crates. Once the doors were opened wide enough a rain of gunfire was upon them. They took shots but to no avail and as Ziva predicted, the machine guns the men had were slowly shredding away at their defensive barrier. The two of them ducked back down as a lull in the gunfire set in. Once it picked back up the agents were trying to deter them with their pistols. They ducked back down to safety once more.

"I'm down to four rounds, you?" Tony inquired tiredly.

"Six but it doesn't matter." She dismissed, checking her gun.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" he scolded, surely she couldn't be giving up so easily. They flinched and ducked closer to the wall as another round of gunfire came at them.

"Because a few more bursts like that and we're dead." she pointed out as they slowly relaxed from their balled up position.

"I've got an idea." Tony told her, reaching forward and grabbing a stray pack of money.

"How come that doesn't comfort me?" Ziva mused skeptically.

"We found your money, cease fire or we start burning it." Tony called out, as he lit the stack on fire; shooting her a grin. The men outside chattered quietly in their language, obviously considering it.

"He's bluffing." Wilson dismissed. Tony proudly held up the flaming stacks to Ziva before leaning over to toss it out of the crate.

"Stop! Stop! What are you proposing?" the man asked.

"Surrender." Tony called back.

"Then throw out your weapons." The man ordered.

"Not us you idiot."

"You." The two agents called back in exasperation.

"I think not, there's 15 million dollars in there. You'll be dead before you could burn half of it." Wilson countered.

"He's got a valid point." Ziva told Tony.

"We just have to stall long enough for Gibbs to find us." Tony assured. He turned to lean past the side of their cover.

"Uh….i just need to talk to my partner about that for a second." He called out and winced as he leaned back. He rested his head against the box behind him, hoping that they would get here soon.

...

In the car, Mr. Lake had given them the coordinates to where Abby's GPS fix was.

"Copy that we're headed that way now Lake." Gibbs told him over the walkie.

"Those warehouses are about 2 clicks from here, we should make a left past these loading docks." McGee informed, looking at the map once more. The car passed a man that was casually leaning down to pick up a trail of money. Claire frowned.

"Did you see that?" she asked.

"The guy back there?" McGee questioned. Gibbs stopped the car and stared back at the man through the mirror.

"Yea, McGee the one stuffing money in his pocket." Gibbs answered pointedly as he put the car in reverse. The man jumped as Gibbs flew past him and they all got out of the car.

"NCIS." Gibbs informed, flashing his badge.

"I didn't steal it I swear." The man insisted drunkenly.

"I f…I found it." The added. Gibbs snatched the money and looked at the man intensely.

"Where?" he inquired lowly.

"There was a container truck….and money was just floating out the back." The man stuttered.

"Which way?" Claire asked. The man paused and looked at her with an odd expression. Claire eyed him warily.

"What's in it for me?" he asked with an impish grin in her direction. Claire growled, thoroughly fed up with all these delays. Tony might not have that long and woe to anyone who got in her way. She pulled out her weapon, promptly aiming it between his eyes. The drunk almost instantly sobered up as he stared at the gun with wide eyes.

"You don't piss me off. Now answer the question." She told him with a pointed grin. Gibbs and McGee stared at her in silence, but didn't argue.

"What was the question again?" the now frightened man asked quietly.

"Which way?" Gibbs asked, getting the man's attention.

"It went that way." he pointed in the direction they had just come from. They all nodded and took of towards the car once more.

"Boss that's the wrong direction according to the GPS fix." McGee warned as they got back into the car.

"Not according to Tony, he said follow the money." Claire countered as Gibbs turned the vehicle around and sped off in that direction.

...

As the firefight continued the two agents ducked down once more and leaned heavily against the boxes.

"I'm empty." Ziva whispered worriedly. Tony simply held up his gun in agreement.

"This is your last chance, come out or you die." The man threatened.

"About those friction burns?" Tony inquired tiredly. Ziva rose an eyebrow at him.

"What about this new girlfriend?" she shot back. Tony pursed his lips.

"Only when I am absolutely sure we are going to die." He told her. Ziva nodded in agreement with a chuckle.

"Its ok I got 2 minutes." He joked, growing increasingly nervous as time ticked by with no sign of their team.

"And Tony I'm sorry I didn't invite you to dinner last night." Ziva told him sincerely.

"Freeze, port security. Put your hands in the air and get on your knees." A familiar voice rung out, getting the agent's attention.

"Agent DiNozzo, Agent David." The voice called again.

"Lake?" Tony questioned.

"You two had a lot of people worried let me tell ya." Mr. Lake told them as he held a gun up towards the men he held hostage. Tony and Ziva slowly made their way out of the container, glancing around warily. Tony was clutching a bloody arm and frowned when he didn't spot the faces he was looking for.

"Where's Gibbs and Claire…..and McGee?" Tony asked, not spotting his team.

"They're on their way, do me a favor. Cover them while I radio for some help." Lake told them, as they hopped down.

"Sorry we're out of ammo." Ziva sighed.

"Ah geeze that's too bad." He mused, turning to point the gun at them instead. Tony and Ziva stiffened.

"Come on Wilson get up, get everything into the van. Come on quickly, we don't have much time." Lake ordered the 'hostages'.

"When this is over, the woman is mine." Wilson, who had been limping heavily, growled.

"We'll see Wilson, to be honest with you I don't even know if they're gonna be alive then. You two bozos nearly cost me 15 million dollars." Mr. Lake fumed.

"Actually by now it's more like 10 or 12." Tony corrected.

"We burned some of it." Ziva added smugly.

"You think this is funny!" Lake shouted at them. Tony and Ziva grinned.

"Not me personally." Tony amended easily as a gun cocked behind Lake's head.

"I sure do. Drop it." Claire ordered from behind Lake. The man dropped his weapon as McGee rushed forward to lock the other two in the container.

"You two ok?" Gibbs asked lightly. Tony nodded but Ziva scowled.

"No." she deadpanned, stalking towards Lake. She swiftly nailed him in the gonads, causing the man to cough in agony. Tony blanched as she walked away stiffly.

"Now if you will excuse me." She muttered tensely.

"Where are you going?" McGee called as he cuffed Lake.

"I've been locked in a box all day…..the ladies room!" she explained, swiftly making her way out. Claire and Tony shared a chuckle before catching eyes.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at the NCIs office, I watched in amusement as Tony observed his face in the small mirror.

"You missed a little spot right by my left ear there." he pointed out childishly. I pursed my lips, unamused as I was the one who was graciously cleaning his face from the soot. The things I do for this overgrown child.

"I would do it myself but my wound here prevents it." Tony pointed out dramatically, batting his eyes up at me. Due to his 'terrible injury' on his shoulder he was in a sling and he was milking every second of it. I rolled my eyes and leaned forward to wipe off the smoke smudges. However to make it fun for me I leaned in closer to his ear than necessary, making sure to blow in it. Tony gulped nervously, trying not to react as the rest of the team was nearby. Leaning back I grinned at him.

"That's not a wound, it's a two inch scratch." I told him.

"I was grazed by a bullet. Another six inches to the left and bam…no more DiNozzo." Tony countered before tilting his head up.

"Under the chin too." He ordered, but I could tell the underlying meaning behind that. If his head tilted up, then he could steal a kiss. I shook my head, earning a pout.

"You know what I am done, do it yourself." I told him, tossing him the rag I was using.

"Fine just don't come to me for sympathy the next time you get shot." Tony disputed, looking into the mirror for the dirt.

"You did not get shot. I talked to Ziva….you cut it on a wooden box." I deadpanned. Tony shot his head up to stare at the me.

"Hey, there was a lot going on in that container. Nobody's exactly sure what happened. All I know is I was running for my life in a hail of gunfire." he looked out dramatically as he paced the room. McGee and I watched his dramatics in amusement.

"Tony! I was so worried about you." Abby shouted as she rushed in and bearhugged him. Tony whined as his arm was shoved in the embrace.

"Oh I'm so sorry, what happened?" she gently hovered her hands over his shoulders in worry.

"Gunshot." Tony explained, with a dramatic expression of pain. I rolled my eyes. Abby's mouth dropped in shock and she whipped around to stare at McGee and I.

"McGee, Claire! Why didn't you tell me?" she whined.

"It was just a scratch." McGee groaned, flailing his hands in exasperation. Tony pursed his lips but it was quickly replaced with a smile as Abby hugged him once more.

"Oh poor baby." She cooed. Tony shot a grin over her shoulder, flickering his eyes from her to me pointedly.

"Who's gonna drive you home?" she asked.

"I am. I'm making him dinner tonight." Ziva answered, coming up behind them. Tony's eyes widened in surprise as he turned to face her. This was new. Abby stared at her for a moment before rushing up and hugging her tight. Ziva stared at her in confusion.

"What was that for?" she inquired as Abby let her go.

"I'm glad you're not dead." Abby told her with a nod.

"Me too." Ziva grinned.

"So what are you making him?" I asked.

"Italian." Ziva answered.

"You cook Italian?" Tony asked intrigued as he sat back at his desk. Abby latched onto Ziva's hand and dragged her along to his desk.

"Her cooking rocks Tony. What was that dish you made last night at your party?" Abby inquired.

"Slow cooked beef with potatoes and beef." Gibbs answered as he strode into the bullpen. Tony watched in surprise.

"It wasn't bad." He added. Tony looked around at his team incredulous that they were all there without him.

"Was I the only one not invited?" he asked skeptically.

"No." I pointed out.

"Really?...where were you?...oh…" he trailed off, remembering that we had spent the night at my house. I stared at him threateningly, the rest of our team watching curiously.

"Right, the thing I told you about." I played off, shooting him a secret glare. An awkward silence fell on the group, making the guilty two fidget nervously.

"Well anyway I have to go so, Tony have fun at Ziva's…..Ziva don't kill Tony." I quickly spouted out, grabbing my coat and heading home. That was awkward.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

That night Claire was lying in her room, reading over one of the books by the light of her lamp. Tony slowly creaked the door open and she looked up. Tony grinned over at her. He always enjoyed the quiet evenings, where they didn't feel the need to dress up. Finding her in her athletic tank and shorts that she wore to bed, always got his heart racing.

"Hey, how was dinner?" she asked, smiling softly at him, putting her book aside. Tony slowly made his way over to sit on the edge of her bed.

"Pretty well actually, Ziva makes some mean Italian…..not quite authentic but good enough." He grinned. Claire shook her head at him, knowing he would never want to give a full on compliment to Ziva. Heaven forbid they get along.

"She also asked me about my girlfriend….." he trailed off. Claire sat up straighter, propping herself on her arm so she was closer to him.

"How did she know you have a girlfriend?" she questioned curiosly. Tony rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I smelled fruity." He admitted. Claire snorted out a laugh before reigning it back in at his expression.

"What?" she asked with a giggle.

"You know how I just use your shampoo when I stay over. Well apparently, it's been making me smell all girly and she picked up on it." He explained. Claire nodded in understanding.

"Is this you telling me that I need to start smelling like a man?" she inquired cheekily. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Nah…..maybe I could just leave some of my shampoo here in your bathroom…." He suggested, shooting a timid glance her direction. Claire nodded thoughtfully.

"That would be ok…..and I could do the same at your apartment if that's ok. And while we're at it we could….you know drop of some work clothes and stuff just in case…." She told him quietly. Tony grinned over at her.

"I think I'd like that." He admitted softly. Claire grinned and leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. She knew he wasn't ready for any type of commitment. This was just slowly easing him into a steady relationship and Tony was more than thankful for how considerate she was being. Sometimes it scared him how well she understood him.

"Ok big baby, get over here so I can start pampering you." Claire suggested, beaming at him.

"Fine by me; I'll make up for your actions at the office." He pouted but slowly made his way up into the bed with her.


	48. Chapter 48

[Deception: 1]

...

 **Claire's POV:**

This morning the team had all been called in early but it still had a different feel to it. Today was a Sunday and since we technically weren't officially scheduled, they allowed us to come in whatever we wanted. Thankfully I was already in my comfy clothes as I had gone out with Tony to watch him play some touch football with some college buddies of ours. He had been wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and an old Ohio State shirt over his long sleeve tee since it was still a bit cold out. Oddly enough I was wearing one of my old long sleeve school shirts and some casual yoga pants. We were basically dressed like a cliche couple that matched all the time. As I sat perched on his desk, the elevator rang and the two of us looked up to spot Ziva who was dressed in sweats, a large trench coat and hat.

"Hi." We greeted, eyeing her attire curiously. Ziva jerked her chin at us in response. Tony hung up the phone he had been using to finish gathering some basic info for the case.

"You know what I like about coming to work on a Sunday?" he began.

"The relaxed dress code?" Ziva suggested.

"Actually no, it offers a unique chance to get a glimpse into the private lives of my coworkers." Tony mused pointedly. Ziva leaned over her desk to stare at him.

"I have no interest in your life." She countered. Tony however was unphased by her jabs by now and continued on as if she had said nothing.

"Now me, I was playing football. American football." He informed.

"And you…I'm guessing yoga?" he asked innocently as he looked at her clothes.

"Why do you insist on calling it football when you don't use your feet." Ziva asked instead. This caused us both to pause.

"Oh…I hadn't thought of that. Well we kick it sometimes." Tony dismissed as he leaped up to get into a ready position as he played out his story. I grinned in amusement, pulling my jacket tighter around me.

"And I assume Claire was with you during this…..football?" Ziva asked him. The two of us paused and stared at her curiously.

"What makes you say that?" I inquired. Ziva gestured to the large jacket I currently had on.

"Well I just assumed you had it on before you entered the building. And since it is way too big to be your apparel I assumed it was Tony's. It also matches the logos you two have on your shirts." She listed off hesitantly, looking to see if her assumptions were correct. Well she wasn't wrong. I got a bit cold just sitting there so Tony offered me his letterman jacket for warmth. Not gonna lie, I was more than warm at the moment but I just wanted to keep it on for the smell. It comforted me and made me feel all fuzzy inside. And now it could have been a dead giveaway for who Tony's 'mystery' girlfriend was. _Did not think this through._

"So anyway, listen to this. So its first in goal, right…I'm about to snap the ball when my butt starts to vibrate…" Tony narrated excitedly and grabbed his back pocket. He skillfully diverted Ziva's attention away from the problem at hand and I was immensely thankful for it.

"Oh, I have seen this on TV, there was a guy behind you." She imputed. Tony screwed up his face in exasperation.

"No, it wasn't the quarterback….it was my phone." He told her pointedly.

"So, you keep it in your pants at all times?" Ziva asked, confused as to what the point was. Tony sighed and slowly stood up, his story forgotten.

"Enough about me. Let me guess, Pilates?" he inquired, sitting on the corner of her desk.

"Very good Tony." She mused, eyeing his seat.

"I am an investigator, its…..kinda what I do." He told her smugly. Ziva hummed nonchalantly before setting her bloody and bandaged feet on her desk, taking off her gloves to reveal a similar thing on her hands. She was so not doing Pilates. Tony's smile dropped.

"I thought you said you were doing Pilates." I muttered in confusion.

"Isn't Pilates one of your martial arts?" Ziva shrugged.

"No its kinda like expensive stretching." He corrected, grimacing at the blood. I pursed my lips at him.

"It's a bit more than that Tony." I corrected. He shrugged impishly, knowing full well that I did them on occasion.

"Oh, then I guess I wasn't doing a Pilates. Mind giving me a hand with this?" Ziva gestured to her bandaged feet as she groaned from sore muscles.

"Yes I do….who's blood is that?" Tony asked warily.

"Not mine." She told him, reaching up to unwrap them. Gross. Tony frowned and gingerly picked at the wrap, attempting to assist her. Ziva looked across the room to notice someone missing.

"Where's McGee?" she asked.

"In trouble, I left messages on his home phone, cell and blackberry with no answer." I told her with a sigh. Ziva tapped Tony's cheek, distracting him from frowning at her bandages.

"Rule number 3." Tony nodded in confirmation.

"Never be unreachable. When Gibbs finds out about this….."

"Find out what DiNozzo?" Gibbs inquired as he whisked past us. Tony practically lept into action, turning to face his boss.

"A possible abduction boss. Call came in a 0903, Fairfax area code. The voice said her name was Wilkerson and then the line went dead." Tony quickly explained the information we had recently gathered.

"We did a reverse lookup on the number and it belonged to a Navy Lieutenant Commander, Amanda Wilkerson. Stationed at the Department of Navy in Washington DC, no answers from her home phone or cell." I added.

"She's currently on liberty and scheduled to be back at work tomorrow morning at 0807." Tony finished. He glanced over to eye Gibbs beside him, taking in his Sunday attire.

"That's a nice suit, you didn't get married again did ya?" he joked. Gibbs lip barely twitched but said nothing. Not likening the silence Tony's smile dropped. I bit my lip in amusement.

"If you have more DiNozzo, now would be a good time." Gibbs reminded. Tony blinked as his brain kicked back into gear.

"Yea….uh her cell isn't GPS enabled but the service provider narrowed the call location. Uh you know to the...to the…" Tony stuttered as he traced out the circle surrounding a cell tower on the map.

"Radius" I suppled for him. Tony turned to grin at me appreciatively.

"Yes radius….the two and a half mile radius. And they said they'd contact us if it's used again so we could be able to triangulate and get a fix." Tony finished as Gibbs nodded.

"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked, turning to his computer.

"I don't know." Tony told him, staring at the empty desk before rushing off to his own.

"Sunday is a spiritual day in your country, perhaps he.." Ziva began but was cut off by Gibbs.

"Did you get Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson's home address?" Gibbs asked distractedly.

"I did." Tony grinned proudly as he sat down. Gibbs stared at him blankly.

"Then why are you still here?" he asked pointedly. Tony pursed his lips and quickly hopped up, gathering his gear, me following behind him. Gibbs turned to stare at Ziva as she continued unwrapping her hands.

"Are you waiting for an invitation officer David?" he inquired.

"Oh so you really are getting married?" she asked, confused.

"He means you're with us." Tony quipped as he passed her desk. Ziva turned to look at him in confusion. Tony jerked his head towards the elevator and snapped his fingers impatiently.

"Oh….I knew that." Ziva muttered as she scrambled for her gear.

"Tick, tock." I chanted teasingly as he continued snapping his fingers. As we turned Abby made her way past us wearing overalls, a tool belt, and a construction hat.

"Morning men." She greeted. Tony and I returned a cheerful 'Hi' while Ziva waved but was ignored. She looked at us in exasperation and continued to the elevators.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Abby marched right up to Gibb's desk in a very military fashion.

"Reporting for duty as ordered, sir." She took of her hat and saluted.

"Wrong hand Abbs." Gibbs corrected, not looking up from his computer.

"Sorry…sir." She repeated the action with the other hand this time.

"Call came in from a Lieutenant saying she was abducted Abby. I need you to do an acoustical analysis of the tape." He informed her.

"Permission to speak freely, sir." Abby asked in a military voice.

"You can always speak freely Abbs." Gibbs told her, his eyes still attached to his work.

"Thank you. I just always wanted to say that." She gushed in amusement.

"So where's my tape?" she inquired.

"On its way to your lab." He answered.

"And so am I." she mused, placing her construction hat back on. She turned to leave but quickly spun back around.

"If I finish quickly maybe I can get back to habitat for humanity? I'm doing a bunch of wiring for them this weekend." Abby asked him.

"We'll see Abby." He told her.

"Thank you sir."

"Don't call me sir."

"Thank you ma'am." Abby corrected cheekily before heading off. Gibbs grinned in amusement.

...

At Wilkerson's house the three agents stood outside paitently. Tony rang the doorbell.

"It's clear she isn't home, what's our plan?" Ziva asked dryly.

"Use good old fashion American ingenuity." Tony answered, digging his hands into the pocket of his letterman jacket that Claire had returned. However, Tony knew that once Ziva was out of their hair she would steal it right back. He swelled with pride knowing that she took comfort in wearing his clothes, not to mention it made her look even hotter to him. Ziva eyed him curiously.

"Good plan….except I'm not American, Tony." She deadpanned.

"Well lucky for you I am. We start looking for the key." He announced, leaning down to lift up the mat before the door. Claire stared at him in amusement.

"Why would there be a key?" Ziva inquired.

"Because they always hide one. It's stupid I know but it's what they do." Tony shrugged. As he moved on to check the nearby plants Claire shot Ziva a look before stealthily pulling out a bobby pin from her hair and went to work on the deadbolt. Ziva grinned in approval. Claire's way was much more her style.

"And you're certain there's no alarm?" Ziva inquired, watching Claire work.

"Positive, no sign means no alarm. But there's always a key." Tony flourished the key he had found in her direction.

"You may want to write that down." he teased but before he could continue the lock clicked and Claire pushed the door open easily. She grinned at the two of them.

"Ziva why don't you go interview neighbors, see if anyone saw anything." Tony instructed, his eye locked on Claire as she leaned against the doorway in triumph. Ziva rolled her eyes at the two and went off to do as she was told.

"After you." Claire gestured to the open door, looking up at him smugly. Tony stared at her unamused before walking in and pulling out his gun to sweep the house. She quietly shut the door as they split up to search the house. Quickly making their way through the up and down stairs, they checked every room. Once finished, Claire met up with him in the living room.

"Clear." She told him.

"Clear." Tony agreed, the two putting their weapons away.

"Very OCD." Tony mused as he glanced around the immaculately organized living room.

"OCD?" Claire asked casually as she pulled on her gloves.

"Yea, our Lieutenant." He elaborated, looking over the decorations.

"Are you saying she's a neat freak?" she mused.

"Yea, nice job with the lock by the way." Tony told her, slipping on his own gloves.

"Thank you, it was a very simple twin tumbler design." She told him with a grin.

"So are handcuffs but I bet you couldn't get out of a pair of those." Tony countered teasingly. Claire walked over to join him by the fireplace.

"Are you saying you'd like to handcuff me, Tony?" she asked, lowly, looking over at him with a devious grin. Tony suppressed a shiver that shot up his spine.

"It's not really my thing." he dismissed.

"I see." She mused and slipped over to stare up at him intently.

"You're the one that likes to handcuffed then huh?" Claire grinned wickedly, gazing over his form. Tony eyed her with a dark smirk but didn't contradict her.

"Good to know." She hummed. Tony took in a deep breath to steel himself…..he was working….he was working…..Tony snapped on his glove dramatically.

"Spread out." he told her trying to get back to seriousness. Claire grinned knowingly as her eyes followed him.

"What are we looking for exactly?" she asked with a light chuckle at his attempt to keep composure. It wasn't often that she got the chance to push his restraint while they were working and she loved every minute of it.

"Anything that looks out of place." He answered, leading her into the office.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific." She pointed out.

"We're looking for reason someone would want to kidnap our naval officer." Tony told her in a 'duh' voice.

"Preferably before Gibbs asks us for it." he added distractedly as he spotted a laptop on the lieutenant's desk. He leaned forward and turned the machine on before plopping down and attempting to crack the password. He frowned in frustration as his attempts were fruitless.

"Houdini?" he called in a pout. Claire hummed in acknowledgement as she riffled through some papers beside him.

"How are you at picking computer locks?" he inquired tiredly.

"Having performance issues?" she teased. Tony shot her a glare, earning a giggle from her at how testy he was about the 'innocent' comment.

"Not very good. Why? Did you find something interesting?" she asked seriously. The soft sound of creaking got Tony's attention and he turned around to see what it was. As he did the man rolled his eyes and slowly raised his hands in surrender. Claire took no notice as she continued her search.

"Tony, did you find something interesting?" she asked again when he didn't answer. Again Claire rolled her eyes.

"Tony?..." she droned in annoyance.

"Hands over your heads!" a nervous but stern voice shouted from behind her. Claire turned around curiously.

"Now! You too lady." The large security cop insisted, holding up a gun towards them with shaky hands. Tony glanced towards her tiredly, clearly used to this mix up. Claire sighed and threw her hands up in exasperation.

"Make any sudden moves and I shoot. Do we understand each other?" the man asked pointedly. Tony snickered.

"Ok, relax quickdraw we're feds." Tony told the man easily.

"Yea? What agency." The cop inquired snappishly, obviously not believing them. Tony opened his mouth to answer.

"NCIS." Claire answered, cutting Tony off.

"Never heard of it." The man dismissed. Claire rolled her eyes.

"Its Naval Criminal Investigative Service." she answered tiredly, once more cutting Tony off.

"Never. Heard. Of. It." the man pressed. Tony tilted his head to look up at Claire in amusement.

"You never actually get used to it. You think you will, but you never do." he told her with a shrug.

"Ok, I have a badge…" Tony began to stand up but the man quickly stuttered out protest.

"Sit down." He ordered. He pulled out some handcuffs before tossing them to Claire.

"Cuff yourself to him." he instructed. Claire scoffed while Tony laughed.

"I'd rather you shoot me first." She deadpanned.

"Cuff yourself dirt bag." The man insisted with a growl. Tony grinned as Claire's mouth dropped in shock. Reluctantly she did as he asked, fuming silently the whole time. Tony chuckled quietly at her expense, to which Claire snapped the cuffs tightly around his wrist, earning a whine of pain. The guard tossed another pair to Tony who caught it easily with his free hand.

"Now, you cuff yourself the chair." The guard instructed. Tony chuckled in disbelief at what he was hearing and looked to Claire. She shrugged with a grin and gestured for him to continue. Tony leaned over and cuffed himself to the leg of the chair. This left him in a hunched over position.

"You're making a big mistake." Tony warned in a sing song voice.

"Yea, like you did setting off the alarm?" the man quipped. Claire let out a 'ha' in triumph.

"There's supposed to be a sign outside. There's supposed to be a sign outside!" Tony huffed in annoyance as he tried to justify himself. Claire nudged him.

"Kid probably stole it." The guard shrugged. Tony tried to straighten up in the chair but he man shouted at him to remain still.

"This is so umcomfortable." He pouted. Claire smirked.

"Your fault for cuffing it to the leg dummy." She quipped. Tony huffed but sat down anyway, pouting at his uncomfortable position. With one hand the guard reached down for his walkie while keeping his gun trained on them. He took a few shuffled steps towards them as he called in.

"Central, we got two suspects claiming to be feds." He spoke into the device. They paused in silence when he realized there was no feedback or noise. The man glanced down at it in embarrassment.

"No little red light on the radio means the radio not working." Tony explained with a baby voice. Claire snickered under her breath. The man huffed and fiddled with the controls and buttons, taking his eyes off the agents as he did. Claire took the opportunity and began unlocking the cuffs. Tony felt her jerking on their conjoined hands but couldn't see what she was doing exactly.

"Will you please calm down; this guy is a little jumpy and aggressive so just relax." Tony told her calmly. Claire nodded easily.

"So, no sudden moves alright?" Tony insisted, looking up at her. She hummed in agreement before swinging her leg up to knock the gun out of the guard's hands. In one swift motion she had him pinned to the floor with her own gun pressed against his chest while the man blubbered like a baby for her not to shoot. Tony held up his cuffed hand with wide eyes, wondering when and how she managed to escape the cuffs.

"Don't shoot." The man pleaded.

"Nobody's going to shoot anyone. Right Claire?" Tony rested his elbow on his knee and leaned his head against his hand in the chair, shooting Claire a pointed look.

"He called me a dirt bag." She argued, glaring at the man.

"I'm sorry ma'am." The guard sniffled.

"Ma'am?" Claire shouted in offence. Tony groaned and facepalmed at the guard's blunder. Now he was in for it.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Back at NCIS we had been given to a mental countdown on this case. Abby had determined from the background sounds on the call that the commander was locked in a car trunk and thus had little time to spare. There was also the issue of the nuclear devices on a train that had been halted due to her capture. With all the information, she knew about that train and its cargo it was imperative that we didn't move it until she was found. In Abby's lab Gibbs turned from the picture of the radius towards Abby who was analyzing the laptop from Wilkerson's house.

"I thought you said she was organized?" she questioned as she scanned over the devise.

"Her place looked like Martha Stewarts jail cell only neater." Tony deadpanned with a frown as he watched her at the evidence table.

"Her hard drive is a mess. There's subfolders with subfolders, thousands of files and everything is password protected. She didn't know the concept of delete." Abby huffed in amazement. Just then McGee shot into the room and began throwing off his overcoat.

"Boss I'm sorry I'm late." He apologized quickly. We all turned to stare at him and his unusual attire, for McGee anyway.

"Look who's decided to join us it's the ghost of David Nimet." Tony quipped. McGee was wearing a white turtleneck with a sporting jacket over top.

"I couldn't hear my cell because of the commotion where I was." McGee ignored him, looking at Gibbs.

"Where was you?" Abby asked curiously.

"It won't happen again boss." McGee continued.

"You're right, it won't McGee. Help Abby." He instructed before walking off.

"Help Abby with what?" McGee questioned but was ignored.

"Ok, I'll have Abby fill me in." he answered himself. As he turned he jerked back as Tony had closed in on him, grinning at his attire. This would not end well for McGee.

"What do we know?" McGee questioned, trying desperately to avoid Tony's comments. However Tony grasped him by the shoulders and laughed demeaningly at his attire.

"Don't even try to act all normal dressed like this." he snickered.

"What is wrong with what I'm wearing?" McGee sighed, causing Tony to lean forward in laughter. He sucked in a breath, trying to regain his composure.

"You've got elbow pads." He taunted, busting at the seams with amusement.

"Can I tell him?" Tony practically begged looking to me. I rolled my eyes, knowing he desperately wanted to rattle off movie quotes and whatnot.

"Go ahead make my day." I quipped with a knowing grin. Tony gasped in delight.

"Sudden Impact quote…I approve." He muttered gleefully. I nodded.

"I figured you'd like that. Go ahead there's no stopping you anyway. I apologize McGee." I told the man truthfully. McGee frowned and watched Tony warily as he grinned manically.

"Look at this you're like the…..'Mr. Peabody where's the time machine?'…is there a costume party…it's like you're dressed like an English professor…..what are you doing." Tony rambled on as he mimicked multiple accents and quotes, playing with Tim's jacket as he did.

"Are you finished?" McGee sighed.

"No I haven't even started yet Banacheck. What have you got here?" Tony asked and gasped dramatically as he pulled out a pipe. Tony grinned and chewed on the mouthpiece, staring at McGee.

"Oh you smoke a pipe McGee?" Ziva spoke up in interest.

"I don't smoke a pipe."

"This is his writing pipe. Our McGee fancies himself a novelist." Tony droned dramatically as he held up the pipe. McGee glared and snatched it out of his hands.

"I am a novelist." McGee insisted with a growl.

"Don't listen to him McGee, I think your attire is quite…..sexy." Ziva complimented.

"Thank you Ziva." McGee nodded.

"Can we continue with this or are you guys gonna make out for a while?" Abby questioned from her spot behind the table. All four of us turned to look at her with sheepish expressions. McGee quickly darted around to look at the laptop.

"Can I?" he gestured and Abby happily moved out of the way.

"By all means." She insisted.

"The computer belongs to an abducted navy officer, all of her hard drives are encrypted and she hasn't defragged her hard drive since she got it. It'll take some time before we can…."

"Found something." McGee told her instantly.

"What?" Abby blinked.

"Electronic datebook." He explained.

"Where?" she questioned, leaning in to look at the screen.

"It's the icon in the center of the desktop, I use the same program." McGee pointed out to her. It was right smack dab in the center of the desktop, all in all pretty easy to spot. Abby frowned.

"Don't worry Abby sometimes it's hard to see the jungle through the ferns." Ziva told her gently. Abby stared at her wide eyed along with the rest of us. She really messed that one up.

"Right…" she nodded. Tony scrunched up his face in confusion before looking over at me. We waited patiently for someone to tell us what was going on. When they all remained silent, Tony rolled his eyes and turned to McGee.

"What do we have?" he finally asked.

"Looks like her last appointment was today at 8:30 AM." McGee told us, reading over the datebook.

"That's an hour before she called us." Ziva pointed out. Tony and I waited for McGee to continue filling in the details but he just kept reading over the screen silently.

"Did it say where?" he questioned in exasperation at the lack of communication.

"Braddock mall." McGee answered.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In the car Ziva whipped around the curb and stopped instantly at the parking gate before the Mall's parking garage. Tony winced as he was thrown forward in the car and stared at her. Claire was bracing herself against the back of Tony's seat so as not to gain a concussion from the Israeli's driving. Ziva calmly reached out and pressed the button to receive her parking ticket.

"Just out of curiosity who taught you to drive?" Tony asked irritably.

"I did." She answered easily. Tony's mouth twitched in a wince before she pulled out, letting the tires screech behind them. Claire grunted as she was pressed back against the seat. Ziva continued to whip around through the parking garage, going much faster than necessary. Tony squinted as he stared out the window, watching all the vehicles fly past them.

"On the off chance that I can actually see something, what exactly are we looking for?" he droned.

"Commander Wilkerson drives a 2002 silver Jetta." Ziva informed as she turned another corner.

"Figures." Tony mumbled.

"Here we go." Claire muttered, causing Ziva to frown in confusion.

"What figures?" Ziva questioned.

"It's a chick car." Tony pointed out in a 'duh' tone.

"Meaning?" Ziva quipped.

"There are guy cars and there are chick cars. It's a known and irrefutable fact." Tony explained.

"Was it a government study?" Ziva countered. Claire snickered from the backseat. Tony briefly turned to glower at her and rolled his eyes.

"Tony doesn't read government studies." She quipped, earning a grin from Ziva.

"It's just a thing you know, you don't know how you know it, you just do." Tony huffed in defense. Ziva pursed her lips and turned the corner, looking right into the headlights of a large sedan. Claire shrieked in surprise, latching onto Tony's seat. The other car blared his horn as Ziva swerved out of the way, narrowly missing a head-on collision. Tony glared at her.

"The Liberty, Jetta, and Bug of the VW line are all chick. Mustang, Camaro, Escalade, DE cruiser are all guy cars." He told the two, wanting to flaunt his knowledge while he could.

"Tony I drive a mustang, what would that make me?" Claire countered with a raised brow. Tony paused and glanced back at her, with a mischievous look in his eye.

"It means you like power, are dominant, and insane in bed." He informed, shooting her a dark, longing look as he did. Claire bit the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning wildly. Tony cleared his throat, turning back around to continue his assessment of vehicles to Ziva. Claire was pushing him today; he would have to take care of that later.

"A hummer is very guy but with adequacy's issues and then there's some that go both ways." Tony rambled on thoughtfully. Ziva slammed on the breaks in front of a small silver car and Tony grunted as his seatbelt caught. The passengers shot a questioning look at Ziva. She merely pointed at the car beside him.

"That's an Accord, not a Jetta." Claire dismissed and winced as Ziva started off again.

"But case and point, Mini Cooper and Acura fall in the same category." Tony continued on. Ziva shook her head.

"You've given this a lot of thought it's very sad." She pointed out.

"Then there's the Maida, it's a special case. Its usually chick but can go guy. Usually means he's in denial though." Tony ignored as he finished his speech. He casually glanced out the window as they turned up another row.

"Stop." He called, getting her to stomp on the brake.

"Gladly, if it means I don't have to listen to your automobile gender issues." Ziva quipped irritably.

"The plate matches." Tony pointed out. Ziva threw the car in park before getting out of the vehicle.

"Come along my little submissive." Claire growled, loud enough for him to hear and followed after Ziva. Tony groaned lowly, getting turned on by this frisky streak in Claire.

"She's gonna be the death of me." He muttered under his breath before finally opening the door, thinking back to the little bet they started this morning that brought on Claire's actions.

...

 _Earlier that morning:_

 _Claire hummed in contentment as she lazily drew circles along Tony's glistening chest, feeling the rise and fall of it as he breathed heavily. The two of them had taken advantage of the time off work they had been given. Tony grinned as he ran a hand up her bare back, enjoying the small shiver he sent through her. He growled playfully and ducked his head to capture her lips in a searing kiss. Claire smiled up at him as she slowly pulled away, pecking his lips twice more before fully pulling her head back to look at him._

 _"I think you're trying to start something you can't finish." She chuckled. Tony rose a brow challengingly and tightened his hold on her._

 _"I think I can finish just fine, thank you." He countered, maneuvering his legs to intertwine with hers. Claire bit her lip at the length of flesh that had hardened against her thigh. She giggled as he went in for another kiss, taking his time in enjoying the feel of her lips on his._

 _"You have no restraint." She told him lightly, shifting to straddle his body. Tony paused the kiss and looked up at her oddly._

 _"I have restraint." He pouted. Claire stared at him in surprise._

 _"Tony, you are like a loose cannon. The only reason you have energy to go to work is because I have the restraint for the both of us." She countered. Tony leaned up on his elbow, causing Claire to sit back on his lap, the blanket falling down to her hips. Tony's eyes flickered down for a moment before shooting back up to her face._

 _"That's so not true. Who's the one that always initiates our romps?" he pointed out._

 _"You" they both chuckled at the same time but frowned when they realized what just happened._

 _"Ok, I have a suggestion to settle it. How about a bet?" Claire proposed, running her hands along his chest hair with a grin. Tony rose a brow, intrigued._

 _"I'm listening" he urged._

 _"How about we go for as long as we can without being intimate. The first one to break, loses." She explained. Tony bit the inside of his cheek in thought._

 _"What's the consequence?" he inquired._

 _"100 bucks and bragging rights." She instantly answered. He bopped his head back and forth, considering her proposal._

 _"Ok, I'm in. But just so you know I don't like holding anything over you." Tony sing-songed smugly. Claire glared playfully at him._

 _"That's bull." She shot back with a giggle. Tony chuckled and sat up more so he could hold her in his arms._

 _"We should set some ground rules." Claire suggested, wrapping her arms around his neck casually._

 _"Ok, no nakedness." Tony suggested._

 _"You've seen me naked before…..are you just too weak willed to resist something that small?" she taunted. Tony cleared his throat, not liking her insinuations._

 _"Fine, naked is fine." he consented._

 _"No physical touch of our sweet spots." Claire hummed. Tony nodded in agreement._

 _"No kissing other than lips." Tony added on. She frowned but consented after he shot her a challenging stare._

 _"And for this to work, no sleeping together." Claire pointed out. Tony groaned._

 _"Not even with clothes on?" he asked pleadingly. She shook her head._

 _"Not even with clothes on, it cranks up the challenge a little bit." Tony sighed and leaned his head against her collarbone. The action suddenly reminded the two that they were currently naked and intertwined with one another in the bed. Both slowly looked up at one another and shared a questioning gaze._

 _"We can start right after this right?"_

 _"Agreed." Claire nodded instantly as she latched her lips onto his in hungry passion. Tony groaned as he flopped back into the bed, pulling Claire down with him._

 _..._

Back at the NCIS lab, Abby was continuing to analyze the sounds from the phone call while McGee worked on the laptop.

"The car definitely hit something in the road." She mused, playing back a thud.

"Play it back again." McGee requested. Abby turned to glare at him.

"Can you…please play it back again?" McGee amended in confusion.

"Better Timmy." She muttered, whipping around and typing away silently but not replaying the sound. McGee straightened up and stared at her in realization.

"You're mad at me." He told her.

"I have better things to do than deal with your…pipe smoking fetish McGee." She dismissed with a wave of her hand and turning to her other monitors.

"I told you that I don't smoke it, it is purely an inspirational thing." he corrected softly.

"Whatever, if you want to get cancer it's not my concern." She quipped back at him tightly.

"Abby, I don't smoke." He reiterated pointedly.

"The important thing here is to dissect this tape and find something that will help Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson." Abby insisted, avoiding the issue.

"Of course." McGee relented with a sigh. Abby paused before marching over to stand in front of him, hands on her hips.

"You're not the only one who came to work differently today." She pointed out. McGee sighed.

"I saw Tony and Ziva." He told her.

"I'm talking about me. Here's a hint, I'm not one of the village people." She spat, shooting him a look. as she turned away to get back to work McGee frowned and glanced over her overalls and work belt, mulling over possibilities. Suddenly it hit him and he closed his eyes in shame.

"Oh, no. the habitat for humanity was this weekend?" he asked worriedly. She didn't answer but pursed her lips. McGee sighed heavily and rushed over to her side.

"Abby, I'm so sorry, ok. I'm sorry, I completely forgot about it." He apologized profusely, pleading with her.

"You must hate me." He muttered sadly.

"I could never hate you McGee." She countered. Abby reached down to pull out her constriction hat and placed it on his head.

"Don't let it happen again." She told him, holding back a grin. McGee nodded.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

At the commander's car, Ziva was working on opening the trunk while Tony worked on the driver side door. I was leaning on the top of the car from the other side, boredly watching Tony attempt to pick the lock on the car. He insisted on doing it himself instead of me. The male pride is so fragile. I watched as Ziva popped the trunk open she pursed her lips.

"There's no commander in here." She pointed out before shutting it back.

"Need any help with that Tony?" Ziva teased, leaning her arms on the trunk as she watched him slide a wire into the window.

"Nope, I got it. It's just been a while since I broke into cars on a regular basis." He explained, grunting as he missed the lock once more.

"You broke into cars?" she mused, making her way over beside me.

"I was a cop in Baltimore." Tony explained.

"You stole cars for the police?" I asked in confusion. Tony chuckled.

"No. You wouldn't believe how many kids lock themselves in by accident. Or suicides that lock themselves in on purpose. Drug addicts who think they're on a trip but the cars not moving." He elaborated, his eyes fixed on his job. Ziva nodded to the door. I grinned and casually slid my hands down to begin fiddling with the lock on the passenger door.

"Or old people….I loved the old people that would…" Tony began excitedly but Ziva quickly cut him off.

"Fond memories, can I try that now?" Ziva asked, gesturing to the wire in his hands.

"No…..I almost got it." He told her with a stubborn pout. Ziva shook her head at him.

"You just stick it in….twist it around a little bit." He muttered and grinned at hearing a pop of the lock.

"There it is. Now I give it a nice firm yank.." Tony narrated but as he yanked the metal it flew backwards out of his hands. Tony sheepishly glanced over at us as I snickered.

"It happens with the German cars sometimes." He explained and turned to pick it up. While he was distracted I popped open the door on my side and hopped into the seat. As Tony looked back, holding the wire triumphantly his expression dropped at the sight of me in the passenger seat, riffling through the glove compartment. He glared as he peered through the window.

"No one likes a showoff." He pointed out.

"You jealous that I have great hands?" I asked coyly. Tony's eye twitched but didn't comment.

"Got something." I told him with a triumphant grin and pulled out a small compact video camera.

"Oooh..." Tony hummed and tapped on the window.

"Open up." He insisted. I shot him a 'yea right' look and continued scanning through the video. He pressed his tongue against his cheek in annoyance and walked around the car to join us. As I popped out of the car I handed the tape to Ziva and grinned over at him. Tony glared down at me, his face close to mine but not touching. I glanced down at his lips briefly before shooting my gaze back up at his eyes. I was not going to let him get to me.

"Roll the tape." He muttered grouchily. Ziva pressed the button and held the screen up for us to see.

"Did I ever tell you how much I like movies?" Tony joked.

"Only several times a day." Ziva muttered in distaste. Tony shot her an unamused look.

 **"It's Sunday the 14** **th** **. 0843. Location, the parking garage at Braddock mall the agreed upon place of my target. He's promised money and a place to stay in exchange for my willing cooperation. ."** Commander Wilkerson narrated over the tape as she scanned the area before the screen went fuzzy.

"Why don't I think what she said is a good thing?" Ziva asked warily.

"Because you're a better agent than you are a driver." Tony quipped. She glared but Tony merely tipped his head.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

As it turned out, Commander Wilkerson was still suffering for acute bronchitis, thus giving her even less time until she ran out of oxygen. With this new information, Claire set off to get the facts from Ducky and Abby while Tony was upstairs doing more research. Tony paused his work as his desk phone began to ring. Picking it up he answered with his usual, curt greeting of 'Agent DiNozzo, NCIS'.

"Well hello agent DiNozzo, you sound quite dashing over the phone." A sultry female voice rang over the line. Tony grinned behind his hand as a shiver ran down his back. Claire was stepping up her game.

"Well I don't know about that. I think I like where this is going." He muttered quietly, not wanting to alert anyone to the conversation. Claire hummed.

"Where are you?" he asked glancing around the office subtly.

"It's a secret. But you know what?" He could practically feel her grinning over the phone.

"What?"

"I have another secret to tell you." She whispered deviously. Tony grinned in excitement.

"And what would that be, my mysterious lady." He inquired, trying to tone down his eagerness.

"Open your bottom desk drawer." Claire whispered. Tony quirked a brow and glanced around before leaning over to open up the drawer. His eyes widened when he spotted a familiar black lace undergarment.

"Well if this is here what are you wearing?..." he whispered breathily. Claire giggled, knowing she now had the upper hand. Tony gulped and shut the drawer, not able to dwell on his thoughts or else he would find himself in an interesting situation. No one at work needed to see him get a hard on during the day. That would be mortifying.

"Going commando during the work day is a bit risky isn't it." He asked, running hand down his face.

"Well that's part of the fun, isn't it?" she countered innocently.

"Is there any other reason for this call?" Tony inquired, hoping to distract himself from the thoughts running rampant in his head.

"Yes, Ducky gave me a more accurate timetable for our commander, I'm bringing it up now." She informed, pleased with herself. Tony grinned, setting his hand on his hand that was propped on the desk.

"Well you've been so helpful I don't even know where…"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked as he entered the bullpen. Tony yelped and threw the phone out of his hands before calmly hanging up.

"I hope that was background on Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson." Gibbs warned, spotting the red on his agent's cheeks.

"It was boss, I talked to everyone in her command. They think she's clean. Not much of a social life, spends half her time at work and half her time at home on her computer. She's basically…..a McGee." Tony explained walking over to stand before Gibb's desk.

"McGee is not responsible for the movement of nuclear fuel rods across the country." Gibbs countered.

"And McGee didn't make a personal video about money and transport to a safe house." Ziva added as she strode into the room.

"What's with that video anyway, it doesn't make any more sense than that phone call for help." Tony commented.

"They both accomplished one thing. The train is no longer mobile." Ziva explained, pulling up a satellite image of the train stationary on the tracks. Claire then entered the room and silently walked over to join them. Tony caught her eye and he instantly reddened before whipping around to stare back at the screen.

"The Navy can't risk moving it until they find out what happened to her." Gibbs told them, walking over to the big screen. They all were silent.

"Navy." Gibbs reiterated turning to face the trio. Tony nodded with a quiet yea, not sure what he meant.

"As in us!" Gibbs told them pointedly. They quickly got the message and scurried off to their desks. McGee made his way up to join them.

"Boss, I think I have something here." He explained, pulling up a screen on his monitor.

"Show me McGee." Gibbs ordered, not wanting long winded explanations.

"I'm not really sure if its anything but I did find something that could possibly help us." McGee rambled. Gibbs tolled his eyes in exasperation.

"Show me." He ordered.

"Wilkerson's email log showed that she sent 14 email messages, not from her home address. Its registered at a different ISP." McGee pulled up emails full of gibberish markings and numbers.

"I can't read that." Gibbs muttered.

"Well its encrypted." McGee pointed out.

"Then un-crypt it." Gibbs told him with a glare.

"Abby and I are working on it." McGee stuttered nervously. Gibbs leaned back to stare at him incredulously.

"Why am I sitting here looking at you?" he asked.

"Well I just thought that it might be helpful to know that Commander Wilkerson sent all these emails from a store called PBJ at the Braddock mall in Fairfax." McGee explained meekly.

"Wilkerson could suffocate at any time and you couldn't tell me this with a phone call McGee!" Gibbs shouted, getting the others to flinch at the suddenness.

"Well I could've." McGee commented. Gibbs turned to glare at him.

"You should've." Claire muttered, subtly gesturing for him to bolt. Gibbs the man a cold stare. McGee nodded silently before dashing back downstairs.


	49. Chapter 49

[Deception: 2]

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony, Ziva and I walked into PBJ where the emails had been sent from. It wasn't much, just a large room with a bunch of desks and computers, bland walls with various wanted posters.

"Can I help you?" a man by one of the first desks asked, staring at us in boredom as he slouched in his chair.

"NCIS, I'm agent DiNozzo this is agent Conners and…" Tony pointed a thumb behind us only to notice that Ziva had wandered off to look at the different posters.

"…officer David." He sighed, looking back at the man.

"It stands for Naval Criminal Inv.."

"Investigative service. We've worked with NCIS before." He rattled off dryly. Tony and I quirked a brow.

"I'm uh…Ross Logan I run this chapter of PBJ." He introduced, finally sitting up in his desk. Ziva whipped around excitedly and pointed at him.

"Peanut butter and jelly, yes?" she shouted hopefully. I hid my grin at how excited she was to get something right….but I highly doubt that this is what it stood for. Ross rolled his eyes, obviously used to this guess.

"Actually no…it stands for Perverts Brought to Justice." He corrected tightly. Tony grinned in amusement at Ziva's frown.

"We're a nonprofit that helps law enforcement track down online pedophiles." Mr. Logan explained.

"That was my second guess." Tony murmured as he whipped out a photo of the missing petty officer. I watched as Mr. Logan's eyes lit up in recognition.

"That's Amanda Wilkerson…..is she in trouble?" he asked in slight annoyance.

"She's been…"

"Why do you ask if she's in trouble?" I quickly cut Ziva off. I wanted to know why he was assuming trouble before we tell him the details.

"Past experience." Ross explained as he stood.

"Meaning?" I prodded.

"Meaning we have a strict policy to only monitor suspected predators, we never confront. That's obviously your job." He sighed.

"Well I'm gonna take a wild stab and say Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson didn't always follow policy." Tony suggested with a knowing raise of his eyebrows.

"Actually no, she had a few confrontations with some of our targets. And one is suing us for harassment." He huffed.

"How long did she volunteer here?" Ziva inquired.

"She started about 2 years ago ever since her 14 year old niece was raped by an online predator." Ross told her. We all stared at him, understanding why she would do this.

"What's she done now?" the man continued, glancing between the three of us.

"She's missing." Tony told him quietly as he wrote down information.

"Her email records say she was here last night?" Ziva pointed out. Mr. Logan's eyes widened in thought.

"She was…..the uh 8 to midnight shift. Over the last couple weeks, she's been working with a pervert by the screen name of 'fleetcaptian." He explained, leading us over to another computer and pulling up the information.

"He thinks Amanda's 14. Look there's a transcript of last night's conversation its very….explicit." Ross stood out of the way to show us. I stood off to the side, seeing more of these conversations than I wanted to from all the years I worked.

"More like sickening." Ziva pursed her lips as she scanned the screen.

"There's called perverts for a reason." Ross told her pointedly.

"Do you have an IP address for this freak?" Tony asked.

"Unfortunately no, his internet connections run through a dozen different addresses and they change nightly." Mr. Logan groaned in frustration. Tony quirked his head thoughtfully.

"I'm gonna need your server and files then." Tony requested.

"Our best hackers haven't been able to crack him." Ross pointed out.

"You haven't met our hacker." Tony grinned. I don't care what he says, Tony is fond McGee whether or not he admits it. And it's adorable to watch.

"Is he good?" Mr. Logan asked skeptically.

"Does a bear sit in the woods?" Ziva quipped. The man stared at us oddly.

"Are you the cracker jack team on this job?" he inquired.

"She's Israeli." I apologized. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"Look I know I got the bear thing right." She muttered indignantly. Tony and I laughed.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Ziva's head leaned over just above Tim's shoulder as she watched him hack into the servers that he had been given. She insisted on joining him in the office section of Abby's lab in order to work on her computer skills. Ziva was being completely platonic and serious about the learning but not everyone saw it in that light. Abby glared at them from her usual work station in the other room. She pursed her lips and turned to look at Tony who was staring at her innocently, munching on his sandwich, oblivious to the whole thing. Claire glanced between her and the room, raising an eyebrow in interest. Abby glared at her briefly, obviously not wanting to address the obvious issue.

"I isolated the sound off the phone call. What do you think?" Abby began, distracting herself with her own work. She played the second long clip of a quick thunk like sound. Tony chewed thoughtfully.

"That thunk sorta sounds like metal." He suggested, taking another eager bite of his sandwich.

"You don't think I haven't already thunk that Tony?" she asked with a bit of humor.

"Then why did you ask me to listen?" he inquired, lost.

"Cause I went to a plastic death concert last night and I couldn't even hear my alarm go off this morning and I wanted to be sure." she rambled sheepishly.

"Oh, play it again." Claire gestured for her to continue. Tony nodded and stood to walk over closer. Abby replayed it and Tony munched on his food once again. Claire glanced over at him and the giant napkin tucked into his shirt collar. Tony smiled down at her, his cheeks full. She barely contained a snort.

"A train track." Tony told Abby. She nodded in amusement.

"Yes, railroad tracks would be an obvious choice. But there isn't a second thunk or a clack, not even a thock on that track." She rhymed with a frown. Tony's lips quirked in amusement as he stared at her.

"Have you been reading a lot of Doctor Seuss books?" he asked in amusement.

"You know I love me some creative old guys." She grinned. Tony hummed and nodded. This time around Tony closed his eyes as Abby played back the entire section of the phone call, including the mysterious sound.

"I think I heard something after the thunk but the scream kinda covers it, can you erase that part?" Claire suggested.

"No but I can mess with the frequencies." Abby told her, eagerly pulling up the features. While her back was turned Tony slid a hand up Claire's back, earning a slight jump. She glared back at him as he smiled innocently, running his thumb underneath her shirt on her bare back. She suppressed a shiver as she watched Abby work.

"The sound you heard, was it higher or lower than her scream?" Abby asked, not noticing what was going on behind her.

"Lower." Claire answered with a head bob. This time they listened once more with the adjusted sound, and low and behold there was a second thunk.

"It was a railroad track. Her screaming was covering the second thunk. And I need to wear earplugs at concerts." Abby rambled while the other listened.

"Ok the commander was at the Braddock mall at 8:30 am." She explained, pulling up a map of the area. Tony and Claire wandered over to stare at the big screen while Abby trotted after them.

"They cross railroad tracks 20 minutes later." Tony added. They scanned the roads and lines.

"There, those are the only railroad tracks within 15 miles of the mall." Abby pointed out.

"Ox road, that's good work Abby." Tony praised, wiping his mouth.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

"Assuming Abby is correct, the vehicle harboring commander Wilkerson left the mall via ox road." Ziva showed to Gibbs.

"The car traveled southbound to pass 3 gas stations, a Walmart and this Lexus dealership and 6 miles later they passed by this bank just before crossing the dungy street railroad tracks." Ziva tracked while I worked the remote.

"How many times did he pass 'GO?" I chuckled from my perch on Tony's desk. Ziva stared at me behind Gibbs back.

"Collect your 200 dollars? Come on monopoly…..the board game….its American?" Tony elaborated, his brows furrowing at her blank expression. Ziva shook her head in confusion before continuing. Tony and I shrugged.

"Ox road eventually comes to an end at the loving luxurious community of terra trace estates. The Fairfax police are now focusing their search in this central area. They suspect between 8-9 hours for a thorough search." Ziva informed.

"Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson doesn't have that long." Gibbs muttered.

"Which is why I tracked down the only available surveillance video on or near ox road." Tony piped up from his seat with a grin. He reached over to snatch the remote from me but I held tight and shot him a look.

"Hit the little right button." Tony told me instead, pointing his finger towards it. I pursed my lips but did so anyway.

"This is the internal security camera of a Northern Virginia savings and trust ATM. It's about 300 yards north of the train tracks at Ox road, right. And we know the car passed over the tracks at 0904, the speed limit is 35 miles per hour. So we gotta assume our abductor didn't want to attract attention by speeding, right. Our car should be passing this camera around…" Tony rambled on, staring at his math on the notepad while the rest of us watched the screen.

"Hold on a second…" he told us while muttering the math to himself. I clicked the remote to fast forward the tape.

"Right….here." Ziva indicated, getting me to pause the tape. We all looked to stare at a frame of a very large chested woman taking over almost the whole frame.

"I'm switching banks." Tony straightened up, staring at the screen with wide eyes. I looked over and glared at him.

"You really think she's hot?" I deadpanned in disbelief. That rack was totally fake and she wasn't that attractive.

"She's a perfect 10 with a great rack…" Tony grunted as Gibbs reached up to slap us agents on the back of the head. I flinched, but was relieved to feel that it wasn't all that hard on my end.

"I saw that, why did you give her the soft touch?" Tony accused, staring at Gibbs incredulously. Gibbs said nothing but stared at him.

"Thank you, boss." Tony muttered.

"That was a low blow." I glared at Tony who grinned down at my innocently. He knew I was the one more prone to jealously and throwing the floozy in my face was not ok. But I was not going to cave. I was not going to grab him and kiss him to remind him who's he was…he was not winning this bet.

"Is there a better shot we can get?" Gibbs asked, bringing us back to the issue at hand.

"There's a few frames just before she blocks the car with her incredible…..figure." I rewound, showing the tail end of the car. Tony shot me a glare at the taunt.

"That's a 1989 Mazda Benz 560 SCL boss." Tony informed.

"I can't see the plate." Ziva frowned at the blurry image.

"Uh use your little clicker and zoom in." Tony taunted with a 'duh' tone. I sneered and zoomed in on the image. A larger blurry photo appeared, the numbers just visible.

"Uh that's either an 8 or a 6." Tony squinted along with the rest of us.

"That's an 8." Gibbs corrected easily. We turned to stare at him in shock. Tony cleared his throat.

"In all due respect sir your eyesight isn't exactly your strong suit." He pointed out. Gibbs harshly ripped out a piece of paper and handed it to Tony who flinched.

"863-RCT." Gibbs easily told him the plate number. We shared curious glances. How did he make that out?

"9 cars reported stolen from Northern Virginia this morning." He added, grabbing his gear.

"And one is a Benz 560 SCL." Tony stared at the list of cars stolen that Gibbs had also added on the paper. That explains it.

"Stolen from a Mr. Laugherty in Fairfax, Virginia." I muttered.

"Move it!" Gibbs shouted from the elevator, Tony and I sprinting to catch the door.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"How long has your car been missing?" Gibbs questioned Mr. Laugherty. The man was currently distracted by Claire who was watching his clown-fish silently.

"I don't know. I just reported it missing this morning" the man answered after a moment.

"I went out to get the paper and uh it was gone." He elaborated.

"When did you last see it?" Gibbs asked. Mr. Laugherty thought for a moment.

"Um last night around 9." He told answered.

"I came back from renting a movie." He added, eyeing each of the agents warily as they glanced around his house. Tony was seated on the man's couch reading Hopper.

"What movie?" he asked, not looking up from the book.

"Does it matter?" Mr. Laugherty asked nervously.

"Oh yea." Gibbs assured. The man chuckled.

"The title's kind of embarrassing." He stalled.

"Back of the store triple X?" Tony innocently inquired. Mr. Laugherty closed his eyes in exasperation.

"No." he countered wearily.

"Weekend at Bernie's part 2" Claire answered for him as she read the disk.

"Oh that's even worse." Tony cringed.

"Anyone else have keys to your car?" Gibbs continued.

"No I live alone. Someone stole my car and used it in a crime right?" Mr. Laugherty asked.

"What makes you think that?" Tony asked, standing to go look at what Claire was riffling through.

"You're feds looking for a stolen '89 Mercedes and I'm not an idiot." he pointed out.

"You've been home all morning?" Gibbs asked.

"Yea, what happened?" he inquired.

"Can anyone verify that?" Tony asked instead, picking up a DVD. The man's eyes widened.

"Whoah! I didn't have anything to do with whatever shooting or robbery my car was in." Mr. Laugherty quickly told them. Gibbs phone rang. As he stepped away to take it Mr. Laugherty walked over to where Claire was staring at the aquatic fish.

"Lionfish, trigger and clown. I breed them." He explained. Claire stared over at him blankly.

"I hate clowns." She muttered.

"Somebody's using Wilkerson's cell phone. McGee's getting fix." Gibbs told his agents as he hung up and headed to the door.

"What about my car?" the man asked.

"We'll call ya." Tony dismissed as he followed.

...

The team drove out onto a fairly abandoned back road. Gibbs drove slower than usual, following McGee specific instructions. Suddenly he parked and got out, signaling for the other two to follow.

"Alright got it McGee "he hung up the phone.

"The signal's coming from a 100 yards north of here and it's still active." he informed. Instantly the three split up to surround the wooded area before them. Gibbs and Claire one way and Tony the other. As they heard voices the three paused, making eye contact for silent communication. Gibbs gestured for the two to move the other direction so they could surround the voices.

"Freeze NCIS!" Gibbs shouted as the led the charge into the small clearing.

"Don't shoot!" the redheaded boy warned.

"It's not our beer?" the brunette told them, the phone in his hand and the person still talking on the line.

"Uh we found it." His friend chimed in glancing at the nearly gone 6 pack beside him.

"Who's on the phone?" Claire questioned the teenager.

"Uh my girlfriend" he told her in confusion. She quickly snatched up the phone and pressed it to her ear.

"Hi….oh my god don't touch me there" She giggled airily, sounding much like a teenager fooling around with her boyfriend. All the men stared at her with wide eyes.

"…..hes going to have to call you back bye." she chirped and abruptly hung up. The teens stared at her in shock while Tony grinned in amusement.

"You're busted." Claire told them sternly. Instantly the teens rose their hands up with wide eyes.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

I had the 'privilege' of escorting the confused and frightened teens into the car. I'm surprised neither one of them were peeing themselves or crying for mommy just yet.

"Definitely Commander Wilkerson's cell phone boss." Tony informed as he bagged the cell that the kid was using.

"Five calls made in the last hour. Two to an adult chat line and three to a teenage girl in Manassas." he added.

"Communicate with the locals, I want the park searched." Gibbs instructed.

"Sheriff's department is in route." Tony chimed.

"They say they bought the phone from another boy." I informed, walking over towards them.

"This boy have a name?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm sure he does. They, however claim not to know it." I rolled her eyes.

"They also claim that this isn't there beer." Tony pointed out.

"You don't think I know they're lying. I'm not stupid. Besides I hang out with you and it's not that much of a difference." I challenged with a glare. Tony pursed his lips in distaste. Gibbs abruptly began to pour out the cans of cheap beer, breaking up our spat and causing me to stumble back in an attempt to avoid the spray.

"Thank you!...cause I do. They're only kids." I spat sarcastically at Gibbs before turning to Tony, finishing our debate.

"Actually they're teenagers." Tony corrected childishly.

"Whatever." I dismissed.

"The little one was about to cry. So what's the game plan, we have to draw the line somewhere Gibbs. I mean these kids are not potential suicide bombers." I threw a hand towards the car in the kids' defense. I really hope he isn't anticipating on interrogating them like we do actual criminals. Gibbs stared at me quietly.

"And I don't interrogate children." I protested sternly, not sure what he wanted from me. Gibbs nodded in agreement.

"No, you don't Claire, you talk to them." Gibbs informed coolly and handed Tony the empty cans before walking over to the car. I nodded my head in understanding and turned to Tony.

"So how is this seating arrangement going to work?" I inquired. Tony furrowed his brows.

"There's three of us and two of them sitting in a 5 person car…who's gonna be stuck in the back with the delinquents?" I explained.

"Ah, good point." He nodded. We both turned to spot the two of them watching us nervously from the backseat.

"I think it should be you." I quickly suggested; Tony throwing me a baffled look.

"Why me? You really think 3 grown men would fit comfortably in that backseat?" he asked incredulously.

"Ok, one they are barely teens. I'm pretty sure I could take up more space than they could…" Tony smirked.

"Well you do have a full womanly figure and a nice…"

"Don't finish that sentence." I warned playfully, but it did the trick. Tony mimed zipping his lip and continued listening.

"Two, do you really want me in the backseat with two horny teenagers?" I pointed out. Tony's grin dropped as he thought about it.

"Good point." He muttered. I grinned and make my way towards the car and purposefully swinging my hips in a way I knew would gain Tony's attention. The groan from behind me only confirmed it.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

In the bullpen, Tony was left talking to the kids while the rest went to MTAC.

"We didn't know the phone was stolen." The brunette insisted.

"We bought it from a guy we know at school." His friend added. Tony watched them from his perch on the side of his desk.

"I want the name Beavus." Tony growled, glaring at the ginger. The boys glanced at one another nervously.

"Well we don't like, 'know' know him." his friend amended with a stutter.

"Yea, meaning we don't exactly know his name." 'Beavus' clarified.

"Well I like…totally think you're like….like lying…..like." Tony retorted in a dramatic teenager.

"You wanna know why?" Tony continued.

"Cause you're old." The brunette quipped. Tony grinned tightly at him.

"You're a funny guy." He muttered. Suddenly Tony's desk phone rang.

"You're playing a dangerous game small fry." He added warningly as he picked up.

"OPs….hey Maddie its DiNozzo. Yea, see I need to requisition 2 sets of genital cuffs, and I gotta requisition a marc 5 tazer again." Tony requested, not missing the horrified looks the boys were wearing.

"Nah you don't have to clean them, I'll wear rubber gloves." Tony insisted before handing up. He grinned at the boys tightly, while sliding his fingers of the speaker button without their knowledge.

"I'm thirsty, can I get you boys something to drink." Tony asked politely. The brunette shook his head quickly, his wide eyes still watching the man in fright.

"Well you should because interrogation makes you a little dehydrated." Tony shrugged. The boys just stared at him silently.

"Ok." Tony shrugged and casually turned. He held up a finger and turned back as if remembering something.

"Oh before I forget, any history of testicular cancer or high blood pressure in the family?" he inquired. The boys continued to stare.

"Ok…you boys think about that for a second. I'm gonna go get a little refill and then we'll talk about the boring stuff later funny guys." Tony quipped as he sauntered out of the area and around the stairwell where Claire was waiting with a grin, phone in hand.

"Why hello 'Maddie', thanks for the call." Tony grinned at her.

"Genital cuffs?" she asked in amusement.

"Steve martin, Michael Kane, Dirty Rotten Scoundrel. Great movie.."

"Shhhh, it's working." Claire quickly cut him off, holding up the cell where they could hear the boy's voices discussing their situation. Tony rose a brow at how close their faces were. Claire caught his expression and rolled her eyes, shoving his face away playfully before focusing in on the conversation.

 **"Dude you have to tell them." 'Beavus' pleaded.**

 **"Dude he's bluffing there's no such thing as genital cuffs." The brunette scoffed.**

 **"What if there is?!"**

 **"Yea and what if Gecks found out we ratted on him?" his friend countered.**

 **"Maybe these guys aren't even cops, and they're some secret government agency. I mean did you see the way she was playing with her knife" he protested.**

 **"Yea I know….it was kinda hot. Like Selma Heyak in Desperado." The brunette agreed, thoughtfully.**

"Never seen it." Claire muttered in their ears as she snuck up behind them. They whipped around to stare at her as she grinned deviously. Tony sauntered up to join them.

"Alright, that's for the number." He slapped down a pad and paper in front of them.

"W..what number?" 'Beavus' asked, nervously eyeing Claire as she picked her nails with her hunting knife.

"Geck's. Beavus." Tony answered easily. The boys stared at him in shock.

"Write…write, write." Tony chanted pointedly as he handed the boy a pen. Beavus reluctantly began writing the number. Tony leaned over to place his head by Claire's ear. She barely contained a shiver as he purposefully let his breath fan over the shell of her ear.

"And that is how you interrogate kids." He purred.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony was on the phone with Geck's father as the two teens were being led out by their mothers. I watched with an amused smirk as they left. Ziva and I shared a chuckle before looking back towards Tony.

"Look we need to know where your son is Mr. Geckler?….well where does he usually hang out on Sundays?...ok…..well if he gets home tell him he can't leave and you call me, thank you." Tony finished, writing down the address.

"He appears to be a busy young man." Ziva mused as she leaned against the desk.

"Yes, well he's our only link to the commander." Tony muttered.

"Not anymore, give the kid's stuff to McGee we found the pervert." Gibbs announced as he marched into the bullpen, McGee at his heels.

"Where?" I asked, rushing around to grab my gear.

"The computer he was using leads back to 24336 maple street." McGee informed.

"Mr. Clownfish." I muttered in realization.

"William Laugherty?" Tony added in confusion.

"I knew that guy gave me the creeps." I growled, angry that I couldn't see it earlier.

"Come on, let's roll." Gibbs ordered and the three of us followed him out.

...

Arriving at the house, we all stepped out of the car, donning our NCIS jackets on instead of civilian ones. Gibbs pointed to the back I took off with Tony in that direction. We raced into position and I gingerly tried the knob, finding it locked.

"Just give me 10 seconds and I'll…." I trailed off as she saw Tony already using his lock, picking kit.

"You're learning" I mused with a grin. Tony shot me an unamused glance.

"DiNozzo, we're in position." Gibbs commed just before he opened the door. At one we all stormed in quietly and carefully searched the house. The place was deathly quiet, with only the TV running in the background.

"DiNozzo, coming in." Tony announced as he approached the living room with me following closely behind.

"Clear." Gibbs told us.

"The back of the house is clear." I added, stowing away my weapon.

"Looks like this guy left in a hurry." Tony mused as he noticed all the items scattered all over the room.

"Ya think DiNozzo?" Gibbs shot back sarcastically.

"And he won't be coming back." Ziva added as she looked into the tank that was now littered with dead fish. She sniffed the top of it.

"Bleach." She determined.

"He poisoned his fish?" Tony questioned.

"Because he couldn't take them with him." Gibbs mused.

"These fish were his prize possessions. If he can't have them, no one can. It fits the profile of a malignant narcissist." I sneered.

"Search the place." Gibbs ordered.

"Anything we're looking for Gibbs?" Ziva asked as she carefully picked apart the room.

"Anything that could tell us where this freak went." Gibbs answered curtly.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at NCIS, McGee was in interrogation with 'Gecks.

"Jason Geckler, I am special agent McGee. NCIS." he greeted the teen.

"Like I told your other agents, I'm not saying anything until my dad gets here." He told McGee smugly.

"Hes' on his way, he also said that he expects you to give us your full cooperation." McGee informed.

"Huh? And how do I know that you really talked to him?" Jason asked skeptically. McGee reached for the file.

"Well he wanted me to remind you, that Winthrop Military Academy is still accepting applications." McGee told him calmly.

"My dad would never send me there." Jason instantly dismissed. McGee furrowed his brow.

"Cause it costs money, dude." Jason sneered in a 'duh' tone. McGee silently reached into his jacket to pull out Wilkerson's cell and set it in front of him.

"Look familiar?" he asked. Jason shrugged slightly, not even looking at it.

"It was being used by 2 of your classmates, a Timothy Griffon and Daniel Austin. They said they got it from you." McGee folded his hands in front of him. Jason scoffed.

"Did they now? Well I'll just have to be sure to thank them when I get home." He sneered thoughtfully.

"Look a woman's life is at stake here, I need to know where you got the phone." McGee continued calmly. Jason just glared at him silently. Tim nodded before getting up to sit next to him on the desk, starting a new tactic.

"Tim and Dan…they must be pretty scared of you huh?" he mused. Jason barely contained a proud smirk.

"What makes you say that?" he asked innocently. McGee looked at him knowingly.

"Come on, they're obviously geeks. You used to shove them into lockers, pull their gym shorts off in class, drop their books down the toilet." He listed off. Jason grinned.

"It's even better if they start crying, right?" McGee added with a grin of his own.

"Or wet their pants." Jason puffed up proudly. McGee grinned as Jason chuckled.

"Yea, well that too." Tim mused. He stood up and stared down at the boy.

"And you know the best part, when you get older you're not even going to remember their names. But you know what? They're going to remember yours. It's pretty cool huh?" McGee continued, watching Jason think about it.

"You know I really haven't thought about it too much." He shook his head, processing this news. McGee grimaced.

"Yea well I have." He muttered before violently pulling the chair back and spinning the boy around so he could stare him in the eye.

"You know why? Because I was one of those kids and have been looking forward to this day my entire life dirt bag." McGee grinned menacingly

"I didn't do anything." Jason defended.

"I've got you aiding and embedding a kidnapping, interfering with a federal investigation and selling stolen property." McGee listed off, watching the grin fall off Jason's face.

"You know what that means? That means they can try you as an adult…Geck. And when you're in prison, every night when you're crying yourself to sleep I want you to think of me tough guy." McGee taunted. He flicked the boys neck, earning a violent flinch.

"We're done here." he informed, gathering up his files and the phone.

"See you in court."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Jason frantically called just before he reached the door.

"Look I found it alright, and I can show you where." Jason sighed. McGee nodded and turned back around to talk.

...

That night the team was driving, trying to locate Wilkerson or Laugherty.

"The BOLO is out on Laugherty boss." Tony informed from the passenger seat.

"And his passport expired, he can't leave the country." Ziva added as she hung up her cell. Gibb's phone ringing grabbed his attention.

"Yea Gibbs." The man answered.

"Boss I spoke with Geckler, he said he found the phone at around noon today."

"Where McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Braddock Mall parking garage. Laugherty must have driven her back there." McGee told him. Gibbs calmly hung up the phone before suddenly gunning the car, causing the other three to fly back into their seats.

"Where are we going now boss?" Tony asked as he winced from the sudden change in speed.

"Braddock Mall." Gibbs informed easily.

"And you have a problem with my driving?" Ziva accused the other two with wide eyes.

...

A man slid on his ski mask as he stepped off the elevator of the Braddock Mall parking garage. He quickly approached the lone car sitting at the top of the complex. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out the keys and unlocked the trunk, holding a gun in his other hand. Ziva popped out of the space, gun held at his face.

"Drop your weapon." She snarled warningly. The man gasped and stared at her with wide eyes.

"NCIS get down on your knees." Gibbs barked as he appeared from around the corner, and Ziva sliding out.

"Ok ok." The man muttered frantically as Tony and Claire came up from the other direction. The man whimpered as Claire roughly cuffed him.

"Let me know if I'm hurting you." she muttered innocently.

"Ow it hurts!" he instantly shouted.

"Good." Claire muttered. Ziva picked up the gun and frowned at the feel of it. Pulling the trigger, she watched water shoot out the end.

"A squeaky gun?" she asked the man incredulously. Gibbs ripped of his mask to reveal someone they weren't quite expecting.

"Look I was just trying to teach her a lesson." He instantly defended.

"It's Ross Logan boss." Tony informed as he helped Claire yank the man up.

"The man who runs Perverts Brought to Justice." Claire added.

"She was going to confront 'fleetcaptian' so I followed her just in case anything happened." Ross frantically explained.

"You kidnapped her and locked her in the trunk of a car." Tony countered sternly.

"To scare her that's all. I came back to let her out." he protested but yelped when Claire yanked on his arms.

"Look these rules that she keeps breaking are going to get her killed!" he shouted.

"She's on her way to Bethesda, in a coma Logan." Claire snarled. Ross's expression dropped in shock.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Abby sauntered her way into the bullpen, looking around at everyone packing up and Gibbs nowhere in sight.

"Where's the bossman?" she questioned.

"I guess he went home." Tony shrugged.

"He never leaves before us." Abby countered.

"He's had a long Sunday Abby." Ziva pointed out.

"Alright I just got off the phone with Bethesda, Commander Wilkerson is a little dehydrated but other than that she's going to be just fine." McGee informed all of us.

"So, you could say today would qualify as a success." Ziva affirmed.

"We let a pervert get away." I countered sourly. We never were able to find 'fleetcaptian' as we were preoccupied on putting Ross Logan away.

"Whoa….Gibbs went home with a child molester on the loose? There's no way." Abby shot us a knowing look. We all paused and glanced at one another thoughtfully.

"Huh….you're right." He muttered.

"So where is he?" Ziva questioned. After a pause, we all turned to look up at the door to MTAC, already knowing where he was and that soon that creep was going to be looking at a jail cell.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

That night Tony rubbed his shoulders tiredly as he stepped out of the shower. They had a long day and were planning on waking up bright and early for Monday. To rest for the weary. As he took a step into the bedroom he glanced around not finding Claire anywhere. Getting a devious idea he quickly glanced around before grabbing a pair of sweats that he knew hung low on his waist. He swiftly pulled them on and began his search for his girlfriend, eager to see her reaction. He followed the sound of dishes rattling and sauntered into the kitchen. However, what he saw caused him to stop in his tracks. Claire stood there dressed only in one of his button up shirts that barely reached her mid-thigh. As if she felt his gaze she slowly turned away from the dishes she was putting away and leaned back against the counter, smiling seductively at him from across the room. Tony visibly gulped as he got a glimpse of the undone buttons at the top of the shirt. She had done it in such a way that her cleavage was peeking out of it but not enough that exposed to much. He sucked in a breath at how easily she knew how to manipulate him, covering up enough to keep everything hidden yet hinting at the goods.

Claire was struggling just as much as she got a good look at the toned man before her. When Tony stiffened at the sight of her his chest muscles tensed, emphasizing his physique. She struggled to keep her eyes on his face, and not fixated on the way the pants were barely hanging on his hips or the small water droplets that were making their way from his hair, down the curves of his muscles. The couple stood there for what seemed like an eternity, both trying to regain composure before speaking.

"Have a good shower?" Claire asked breathily, flickering her eyes back up to his. Tony slowly pulled up a grin, looking more forced than he would have liked.

"Yea, nice and relaxing." He muttered dumbly. Claire nodded and stretched backwards, raising the hem of the shirt higher up her long legs. Tony blinked hard and in turn leaned against the doorframe. Claire clenched her jaw.

"Well I'm tired so I'm gonna head to bed." She uttered lamely. Obviously, Tony was going to have a much stronger will than she had expected. But no matter what he had to be the one to crack first, not her. She would never live it down. Tony nodded and moved out of her way just enough so she could squeeze through. Claire looked up at him with desire darkened eyes as she slinked her way past him. Once she was out of view Tony let out a shudder and bit his fist in frustration. The things that woman could do to him.

"You coming?" she called out from the bedroom. Tony clenched his jaw in determination.

"Dead puppies, dead puppies, dead puppies…." He muttered under his breath, making sure he would have only bad thoughts to drive away the temptation of her in his bed. The couple mentally steeled themselves for a long night of resistance, both of them too stubborn to give in and lose the bet.


	50. Chapter 50

[Winning a Bet] 

**3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Tony glanced up to watch the girl across the room from him. The one that had been driving him nuts all night and all morning….well for the past few days really. Two weeks…two weeks they had been at this stupid bet and he was close to cracking. He had begun questioning whether keeping this bet going was worth his sanity. Their competitiveness was well known and if left fueled long enough this deal could go on forever, and that would not end well. His inner turmoil was broken by the sound of platform boots trotting down the hallway. The team all looked up to spot Abby quickly rushing into the room.

"Hey Abs where's the fire?" Tony inquired. Instead of a usual perky response Tony received and odd look from Abby. Without another word the girl grabbed Claire by her wrist and yanked her over to the elevators. The team sat there in silence once more…..this time confused as to what just happened. But sometimes with Abby it was best not to ask.

...

Down in the lab, Claire was letting herself get dragged around the uncharacteristically silent Abby. Once they were in her desk area she was released.

"Is there a problem?" Claire inquired, watching her friend warily. Abby huffed and turned to face Claire, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Who is Tony's girlfriend?" she blurted out. Claire's eyes bulged.

"Wh….what?" she stuttered, thoroughly confused and worried about where this was going. Abby rolled her eyes.

"I know you of all people would have noticed how different he's been lately! This isn't normal for him, this is serious. Tony doesn't do serious." Abby explained with a stern expression. Claire chuckled.

"What makes you think it's a serious girlfriend?" she inquired, able to fall back into her normal demeanor now that she knew Abby wasn't on to her.

"Well he's less flirty with random women, he hasn't discussed conquests. Lately he hasn't been plan free, and he's just…..always calm…or like content." She rambled on, pacing tightly in her office. Claire suppressed a grin. Did he really change that much?

"What's wrong with that?" Claire asked casually. Abby eyed her.

"It's not, but aren't you worried about this? What if she's some psycho who is really looking to stab him in the back!" she cried dramatically. Claire's eyes rose comically.

"Abby calm down." She encouraged. Abby huffed again.

"Why aren't you bothered by this?! It's Tony we're talking about. I thought you liked him." Abby accused.

"I do, I just don't think we should be prying into his private life." Claire dismissed, feeling uncomfortable under Abby's stare.

"I still think we should do a background check on this person. I need to know for Tony's sake." Abby insisted. Claire smiled at her. Leave it to Abby to get all protective of Tony and his feelings.

"Abby.."

"Don't Abby me, aren't you concerned with his well being?" Abby shot back.

"Of course I am."

"Then say you'll help me find out who she is." Abby pleaded, smiling at her. Claire sighed and stared up at the ceiling. This was getting so complicated.

"Sure why not, I've got nothing better to do." She finally relented. Abby silently cheered before dragging her out into the lab space.

...

 **Abby has me finding your mystery girlfriend ;)** \- Tony stared down at the message on his cell with a frown. This could go in many directions and he wasn't sure how to take this.

 **Is that a problem?...** he quickly typed back, glancing around to see if anyone had noticed his lack of work. As he did he remembered that everyone was out of the office other than him. Tony shook his head wryly. This job had made him slightly paranoid.

 **Of course not, just expect some harassment when we find candidates.** She immediately answered. Tony groaned in his head. Of course, they would start badgering him for information. He was happy, shouldn't that be enough for his teammates? Suddenly an email alert popped up on his computer. Not recognizing the address he clicked on it warily. However what came up was beyond what he was expecting. If he had taken a sip of water surely he would have chocked at the picture. A firm figure clad only in sexy lingerie was cut off at the neck. Tony gulped heavily as he recognized that body easily and he could have sworn that it looked like his apartment bathroom in the background. He blinked hard as he gained his breath back and finally tore his eyes to look down at the caption underneath it.

 **-Just a little gift for when I'm not there-**

"Tony?!" a voice scolded from behind him. Tony shouted in alarm and frantically held his hands over the screen and whipped his head back to stare at the eavesdropper. He growled in annoyance as he saw McGee's wide eyed expression.

"A little privacy if you don't mind, McPeeper." He snarled defensively. McGee stared at him incredulously.

"Tony we're at work. This is no time to look at your porn." He scolded quietly. Tony stiffened up and glared at the man.

"That's not what she is." He countered sternly. Claire was not some object to be gawked at like a piece of meat. McGee's eyebrows rose at his tone.

"So the rumor is true? You have a girlfriend?" he asked curiously. Tony pursed his lips. Dang it.

"Maybe…either way its none of your business." Tony evaded, trying to quickly exit his email. McGee smirked and watched Tony carefully.

"And this is what you do all day? Sext like some horny teenagers." He asked, fully believing that Tony would go for that type of girl. Tony ran a hand through his hair, thinking through how to approach this.

"No she's actually very professional. We just have some stupid bet going…" Tony trailed off but paused as he stared at McGee thoughtfully. Tim fidgeted nervously under his gaze.

"How would you like to help me out?" Tony offered with a smirk. McGee frowned.

"Why would you want my help?" he asked warily. Tony asking for help was odd enough.

"I know you don't have hardly any experience with females but hypothetically….if you wanted your girlfriend to get all hot and bothered for you, what would you do?" he quickly asked. McGee rolled his eyes at the insult but pursed his lips in thought.

"I guess a grant romantic gesture would work." He offered with a shrug. Tony frowned in disappointment.

"Explain." He deadpanned. Tony knew TV romantic but Claire would catch onto that too quickly to be impressed. McGee shuffled on his feet, uncomfortable with this whole conversation.

"Like candles, dinner, serenade. You know mushy, romantic stuff." McGee elaborated. Tony hummed in thought and grinned.

"That might just work." He muttered and slapped McGee on the shoulder.

"Good work probie, I'll make a man out of you yet." Tony joked. McGee glowered.

"Oh and we won't tell anyone about the…" Tony gestured to his computer screen sheepishly. McGee sighed but nodded.

"No." he agreed before walking back over to his desk.

...

That night Claire knocked on his apartment door before brushing off the nonexistent dust from her dress. Tony's call from inside prompted her to open the door, only to be greeted with a strange yet welcoming sight. In the midst of a candle lighted room Tony stood there with his best dress suit on. Claire's jaw dropped as she stood in the doorway. He chuckled at her awestruck expression and slowly made his way over towards her. Taking her hand gently he tugged her inside, shutting the door behind her.

"Any special reason for all of this, and why you wanted me to dress up?" Claire asked curiously, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

"Do I need a reason to spoil my beautiful girlfriend after a long day of work." He shrugged with a coy grin. She hummed, not buying it.

"You're trying to win brownie points and get me to crack aren't you?" she grinned. Tony grabbed his chest in mock hurt.

"You wound me." He whined pathetically. Claire laughed and grabbed both of his hands, using them to pull him into a deep kiss. As they broke apart Tony took a moment to compose himself.

"That's dirty." He groaned. Claire grinned but didn't protest.

"So is there anything you had in mind other than standing here looking sharp?" she questioned instead. Tony held up a hand as indication for her to wait and he dashed over towards his stereo. The slow sound of Boyz II Men and she grinned at him. Tony swiftly and gracefully pulled her into his arms and began to waltz her around the living room. As the voices came on she was shocked to hear Tony mumbling along with the lyrics just for her.

 _Close your eyes, make a wish._

 _And blow out the candlelight_

 _For tonight it's just your night_

 _We're gonna celebrate,_

 _All through the night._

Tony was secretly thankful for his rich upbringing as he never would have been able to sweep her off her feet, almost literally, as well as he seemed to be doing right now. As the song continued on he kept serenading her with his baritone voice.

 _Pour the wine, light the fire_

 _Girl your wish is my command_

 _I submit to your demands_

 _I will do anything,_

 _Girl you need only ask_

She grinned as he smoothly turned on his television to reveal a fake crackling fire as the part of the song came on. Claire just stared up at him in amazement as he continued singing, staring at only her as he did.

 _I'll make love to you_

 _Like you want me to_

 _And I'll hold you tight_

 _Baby all through the night_

 _I'll make love to you_

 _When you want me to_

 _And I will not let go_

 _Till you tell me to._

He grinned at her as he translated his honestly into his words and his eyes. He would do anything and everything for this girl. All she had to do was ask and he would be at her beck and call. She held so much power over him it was frightening.

 _Girl relax, let's go slow_

 _I ain't got nowhere to go_

 _I'm just gonna concentrate on you_

 _Girl are you ready?_

 _It's gonna be a long night_

He grinned teasingly as she bit her lip, more than happy to comply with what he was suggesting. She was becoming putty in his hands and she didn't mind one bit.

 _Throw your clothes on the floor_

 _I'm gonna take my clothes off too_

 _I made plans to be with you_

 _Girl whatever you ask me you know I can do_

Claire laughed out loud, throwing her head back as Tony jerked off his jacket along with the lyrics. He rose a brow questioningly and ran his hands along her sides as they continued to sway, lost in their own little world.

 _I'll make love to you_

 _Like you want me to_

 _And I'll hold you tight_

 _Baby all through the night_

 _I'll make love to you_

 _When you want me to_

 _And I will not let go_

 _Till you tell me to_

Tony was cut off as a pair of soft lips landed on his. He grinned and wrapped her tighter into his embrace as they swayed. Claire smiled up at him lovingly as the song continued, but faded into the background.

" That was something else." She whispered, the bright smile not leaving her face. Tony chuckled, not really caring about the bet right now. He was just happy his plan had gone beyond the desired effect. Props to McGee for the advice. Claire swooped in, pulling him by his tie so she could get a better angle of his lips. Tony smiled into the kiss.

"You wanna put those words into actions?" she grinned invitingly. Tony groaned happily as he pulled her figure tighter against him.

"You have no idea." he growled playfully. Claire giggled and began walking him backwards towards the bedroom.

"Does this mean I win?" Tony asked curiously, however whatever smug comment he was going to add died in his throat as he saw her unamused expression.

"Right I'll shut up now." He agreed to her silent request eagerly. With a smile he leaned in and took her into another breathtaking kiss, eager to make up for lost time with the beauty in his arms.

...

(Song: _I'll make love to you_ by Boyz II Men)


	51. Chapter 51

Bait (pt 1) 

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

The team climbed out of the NCIS van amidst the chaos of students and faculty being led out of the high school by military members. There had been a hostage situation, entailing one of the students holding them up in a classroom with a bomb strapped to his chest. McGee and Ziva opened the back of the van while Tony sauntered behind them, with an air of haughtiness. Claire waited patiently behind them, grabbing the bags handed to her.

"Gibbs is already on scene, you three follow my lead. This isn't my first time at this particular kind of dance" He commented coolly, seemingly unphased by all the bustle around them.

"Yea I've been to a few myself Tony." Ziva told him pointedly.

"I've been lead on multiple situations like this, so I think it's safe to say I know the drill." Claire added.

"Well you know I play Counterstrike online, that's pretty realistic." McGee chimed in jokingly as he strapped on the camera. Tony pursed his lips.

"Yea well, you only get one life here elf-lord." he quipped. McGee glowered at the nickname while Gibbs walked over to meet them.

"The kids in a classroom on the south wing, SRT has set up a command post in the east wing. McGee, Ziva recon the exterior. DiNozzo and Claire with me. Tony you grab the bags" Gibbs listed off, gesturing for Claire to follow him immediately. Claire snickered at Tony before dashing off after Gibbs. McGee and Ziva shot him smug looks as they set all the heavy equipment and bags at his feet since they wouldn't be needing them. Tony glared in annoyance as Ziva slung her last bag into his chest. With a disgruntled sigh he managed to grapple all the gear in his arms and waddle off after Gibbs.

"On your six, boss." He called and raced into the building.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

On of the administrative offices had been converted into a makeshift control center. We stared at the camera feed showing the halls of the building, particularly the one with the classroom that was the center of all the excitement.

"The target's name is Cody Meyers, 15 years old. According to the witness he came in with a bomb strapped to his chest." The commander explained as we watched his bomb squad set up a barrier on one end of the hall.

"We set a perimeter outside the classroom, evacuated all nonessentials, EOD on site sweeping for secondaries." He listed off.

"How many hostages?" Tony inquired.

"Four maybe five. My men are taking a head count of the student body." He answered.

"Did the witness describe the device?" Gibbs asked. The man sighed.

"She was rushed to emergency and being treated for a panic attack." He explained stoically. I bit the inside of my cheek. Sometimes it was situations like these with innocent kids that were the hardest part of our job.

"Tony find out who Cody Meyers is, get his parents in here." Gibbs turned towards him. Tony nodded and flipped out his cellphone.

"Has he tried to make contact yet?" I asked once Tony was busy.

"No, ma'am not a word. We didn't try to establish any communication yet, we figured that was your job." He elaborated with a shrug. Gibbs smirked while I rolled my eyes. Of course he did. Gibbs sighed and ran a hand down his face in thought.

"Claire take point on this one." He instructed before making his way out. I stared at him incredulously. Sure I was typically a negotiator for hostage situations for my past teams but this was completely new.

"Where are you going?" I asked him warily.

"Back to NCIS to pull some strings and get this information coming faster." He told me. The commander looked at me curiously and I just shrugged.

"Any idea what that was about?" he asked me.

"Probably a gut thing." I muttered. If Gibbs was going to leave in the middle of a case then he had good reason. Something tells me that his gut was going into overdrive and he needed the director to pull some strings for us. Lord knows he's the only one that could boss her around.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Outside McGee and Ziva rushed around the outside of the building as quietly as they could. It would have been effective if there wasn't an incessant squeaking noise coming from McGee's shoes. As the man rushed to hide behind a large tree in the yard he glanced around for his now missing partner.

"Ziva?" he questioned, glancing around. Hearing no reply he pursed his lips.

"Ziva?" he called in a whisper once more, looking around towards the front. Tim jumped when he felt a hand tap him on the back.

"I am here." She hissed.

"We need to be stealthy." She instructed and pointed to a power unit near the room that would provide them some cover. They shared a nod before taking off towards it. Ziva stuttered in her jog and turned to look at him in bewilderment as the creaking started up, breaking the silence. She glanced down at his shoes before shooting him a look as he came to a stop behind her.

"New shoes." He explained with a grimace. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to the transformer." She informed.

"Ok." McGee nodded and prepped himself to run before Ziva held him back.

"I meant alone." She told him pointedly. McGee frowned in confusion but when she stared down at his shoes once more he nodded. Tim watched as she swiftly made her way around the box and peering around to see into the open windows of the room. She spotted Cody pacing back and forth, once his back was turned she made another dash to a transformer closer to the room. Flattening herself as much as she could, Ziva turned to take some pictures of the boy in question as he paced around. Looking at them all she could see was the top coils and a small detonator switch in his hand, the rest of the bomb was hidden by a zip-up hoodie.

"Come on boy, show me your bomb." She muttered in frustration. She took a few more pictures as Cody paused in front of the window, as if sensing her. Realizing this, Ziva quickly flattened herself out once more but was spotted. She watched as Cody quickly instructed two of the students to close the blinds, completely blocking out their view.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

The commander and I made our way into the hallway where everyone was stationed.

"Classroom is around the corner, second door on your right. It can only be locked by the faculty, and Cody wouldn't have access." He quietly explained, as we rounded the corner. I wordlessly gestured for the man to follow as we crossed to the other side of the hall.

"My attack team is ready to go and there are snipers positioned outside. If you want them." He informed me. I shot him a look of displeasure. I was not about to take out some 15 year old unless it was a last resort.

"Is there any other way into the room?" I asked, trying to get some time of plan going.

"One door and a wall of windows. Blueprints are on the way so we can check the ducts." He answered. I nodded and began making my way past the fully decked out officers in riot gear. Holding up a fist, indicating for them to hold their fire, I silently made my way towards the door. I gestured the same to the men at the other end of the hall. Quietly creeping along the lockers I tensed up as I neared. I couldn't screw this up. Especially as the first time Gibbs has put me on point of a case.

"Boss!" a harsh whisper, caused me to nearly jump out of my skin. Knowing the voice all to well I glared up at the ceiling before slowly turning to stare at Tony. I glanced between him and the door in annoyance.

"Sorry." Tony whispered with a wince. 'Come on' I mouthed while motioning him over. Tony stared at me in surprise before nervously tiptoeing my direction.

"I found Mr. Meyers, he was in a conference at Washington DC. They're escorting him now." He let out a heavy breath.

"I just thought you'd wanna know before you go in there." he added with a nod. I only stared at him with wide eyes, silently asking 'why the heck did you just interrupt this just to tell me something unimportant?!'. Tony's lips drew into an awkward smile and he glanced around sheepishly.

"I also wanted to wish you luck. You know with the whole negotiation….and taking point thing. Iyou're your back." He grinned at me, dropping his voice even lower as the hall was silent enough to hear our whispered conversation. I bit back an amused grin and shook my head, though it did make me feel better that I had someone on my side for this. After a beat of silence he nodded his head back to where he had come from.

"I'll head back now." He muttered before darting off. I sighed before inching closer to the room once more.

"Cody Meyers." I shouted from beside the door.

"Special agent Conners, NCIS….Cody?" I called again when there was no answer.

"Get away from the door." the urgent voice of Cody warned.

"Talk to me first." I told him calmly, trying to keep my voice even.

"GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR or I….I blow this thing!" Cody shouted, stuttering a bit at the end. my brows furrowed for a moment before I complied.

"Alright." I told him gently.

"I'm sending someone out." Cody informed. At the announcement I held up a hand, silently telling the swat team to hold their fire.

"I'm coming out." a scared female voice called just before she timidly opened the door. She slipped out with her hands up in surrender. Once she was in sight I quickly rushed forward and pulled her out of the way. The frightened teen eagerly complied.

"Debrief her." I ordered tensely as I passed her off to Tony who seamlessly led her away. Once again I held up a hand the men who were already aiming to fire into the still opened door. Men and their shoot first attitudes. Before I could reach it, the door slammed shut. Everyone relaxed back into position while I gestured for them to continue standing down. There would be no gunfire or deaths if I could help it. Something seemed off about all of this and I was going to find out what. Cody sounded more frightened than threatening which threw me off. It made me wonder if he was more of a victim than a suspect like everyone else seemed to assume.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person's POV:**

"I need to get Nadia's inhaler." The girl, Stephanie, muttered with a hiccup. She sat with Tony at a table in the administrative office, nervously wringing her hands together and letting out stuttered breaths.

"We're getting it." Tony assured.

"She needs it." Stephanie pressed urgently.

"Alright I know, that's what we're doing."

"She can't breathe.."

"Stephanie." Tony cut her off, giving her a gentle but stern look.

"We're getting it from her locker ok?" Tony told her comfortingly. The girl swallowed back another wave of tears and nodded.

"Tell me what happened." Tony requested softly. Stephanie swallowed again and thought for a moment.

"I was in homeroom ..and…and I heard Joe messing with Cody…..then all of a sudden it got really quiet and …..I look up and Cody unzipped his sweatshirt….and he had a bomb." She told him, breaking into tears again.

"That's good ok, what kind of bomb?" tony continued softly, writing it down.

"Like in the movies….it was strapped to his chest." She sobbed again, trying to keep it together so she could talk to him.

"Ok, that's really good Stephanie." Tony encouraged.

"Was he calm?" Stephanie frowned thoughtfully.

"He was acting really weird…..like he was talking to himself." She told him. Tony nodded and wrote down some more notes. After a beat of silence Stephanie calmed back down and looked at him pensively.

"What about Nadia?" she inquired worriedly.

"We're helping her out, that's what we're doing right now." He told her gently, watching as she started to tear up again. Tony winced uncomfortably as she began holding herself and crying quietly. He leaned towards her, in an attempt to be comforting.

"Look, I know this is hard. Stephanie, I need you to hold it together can you do that?" Tony asked her. Stephanie nodded, sniffling and taking a deep breath.

"Ok, now tell me a little bit about Cody." He began.

"He transferred this year. He's like a loner…..the football players, they'd screw with him but they screw with everyone." Tony nodded. Stephanie's eyes widened as she looked at him.

"Oh god….is that what this is about?!" she asked him nervously.

"It could be." Tony muttered truthfully.

"He's gonna blow everyone up." She sobbed again in fear. Tony looked up in relief to see Claire striding into the room, ready to help comfort the crying girl.

"No he's not." she told her in a stern but gentle voice.

"Stephanie, it's gonna be ok." Claire assured, kneeling down next to her. Stephanie sobbed and Tony ran his hands down his face tiredly. Crying teens were not his thing. At this moment McGee made his way towards them.

"Claire, I've got the inhaler." McGee informed holding it up.

"See." Claire told the teen pointedly.

"I have to take it to her. that's what he said, he said that I have to get the inhaler and I have to bring it back to her." Stephanie told them frantically, turning to the woman imploringly.

"We'll take it to her." Claire assured her.

"She needs it!" Stephanie protested adamantly.

"Ok, calm down." Claire patted her softly on the shoulder as she nodded.

"Tony get her a drink." she instructed him softly. Tony nodded and hopped up, leading Stephanie out of the room. Claire sighed and began glancing over Tony's notes as they duo left.

"Claire, you're not going to send her back in there are you?" McGee asked his temporary boss worriedly. Claire shot him a 'really?' stare.

"What do you take me for McGee? I know well enough not to do that." She glowered at him.

"Of course not, you've got a plan." he muttered apologetically. Claire nodded lightly, having absolutely no clue how to go about this. At least McGee had confidence in her. Tim watched as Claire began sketching out some rectangles on a notepad.

"What exactly is.."

"Got background on Cody yet?" she quickly cut him off. He didn't need to know that her mind was drawing a blank on the whole plan thing. Fake it till you make it right?

"I do, I searched the school records. He's an average student, member of the chess club, uh part of junior UN…"

"Let me rephrase…Background information that is useful?" Claire countered, mildly amused.

"Well..well we've got a team right now at Cody's house collecting his things, computer, personal effects. It'll be transported back to Abby's lab." McGee informed.

"How long will analyzing all that take?" Claire questioned, wanting to have some semblance of timeline.

"Well it might take a few hours for Abby to process it all." McGee muttered. Claire shot him a look.

"We don't have the luxury of taking that much time. Abby will need some help." She told him. McGee frowned at her thoughtfully, not picking up her thought process. Claire sighed and stared him down pointedly.

"I'm gonna go back there and supervise." McGee told her as more of a question. Claire grinned in response. With that McGee quickly gathered his gear and scurried off back to NCIS, leaving the inhaler next to her. Once he was gone Claire huffed and buried her head into her hands. How did Gibbs manage to do this so effortlessly?

...

 **Claire's POV:**

A few minutes later I was staring into the camera of some robot the swat team had brought in.

"What is this? Robbie the robot?" I asked jokingly. _Wow that sounded like something Tony would say….I'm spending way to much time with the goof._

"Sorta, it can climb stairs, negotiate corners and unlock doors." The commander informed.

"Impressive, will it convince Cody to surrender?" Ziva asked dryly. I smirked at the sarcasm in her tone. Ziva had joined me in the recon area once she had sent the pictures over for Abby and McGee to analyze. The man pursed his lips in irritation.

"No…but it will deliver the inhaler to the sick student without endangering anybody else. And its camera might get a video of the bomb" He explained, placing the inhaler within the robot's claw.

"You sure this will do the job?" I asked him skeptically, eyeing the joystick that would control it.

"It looks like something you use for video games." I pointed out.

"I've seen one of these cross a mine field under heavy fire in Iraq agent Conners." The man countered defensively. Yea well this isn't Iraq and these aren't enemy soldiers. It's a bunch of scared kids.

"How long until this POC is ready commander?" I asked him. The man sighed, which is never a good sign.

"There's a problem with the software, just have to run a quick diagnostic and…" he trailed off at the annoyed glare I shot him.

"20 minutes?" he estimated. I shook his head.

"We can't afford 20 minutes." I muttered thoughtfully. Suddenly a very stupid…..but possibly game changing idea popped into my head. Something that Tony would absolutely murder me for even thinking. But then again…..what would Gibbs do in this situation. Going with my gut, I snatched the inhaler and made my way over to our supply box. Opening it up I plucked out an earwig and wrist mic, placing them on my person accordingly.

"Ziva, tell Tony channel 2." I ordered, dropping my gun on the desk and marching out of the room. Pausing to reconsider I turned back to peer into the room.

"….after I'm already gone if you would." I added. Ziva nodded in agreement.

"Channel 2." she sighed, knowing there was no stopping me. I quickly made my way down the halls and towards the room. I held up a hand to the gunmen at the end of the hall before taking in a breath. Oh please let this work. Before I lost my nerve, I grasped the door handle and swung the door open, instantly walking inside. Who I assumed was Cody, jumped and stared at me wide eyed. I stood there silently. Giving him time to adjust to my abruptness and not freak out on everyone. Glancing around the room I spotted one girl who was wheezing erratically. That must be Nadia.

"What the hell are you doing." Cody snarled as he backed up and held the switch in his hand up threateningly.

"Nadia's inhaler." I told him, holding the object up in plain sight.

"Stephanie was supposed to bring it, where's Stephanie?" he asked frantically. I eyed him silently, taking in his frightened actions. He wasn't being overly dominant in this situation, rather he was shying away from my presence.

"Safe." I answered easily.

"No…this…this is all wrong." He hyperventilated worriedly.

"Just give this to Nadia, I'll make it right." I told him.

"I'm in charge here, not you!" Cody snapped aggressively. I held up my hands peacefully. Something was definitely off, his words and actions were wildly contradicting.

"You're in charge." I agreed.

"Get Stephanie back in here." He ordered. I shrugged, apparently the adrenaline going through my body was making me a bit bold.

"Not gonna happen." I told him. Cody visibly stiffened and he ran a hand through his hair roughly.

"You're killing everyone!" he warned. I glanced around calmly, watching the group of kids sit there with teary eyes.

"I'm not the one wearing a bomb." I pointed out. Cody scrunched his face up in distress.

"While you think on that, I'm giving this inhaler to Nadia." I explained and slowly walked towards the wheezing girl. As I neared, the teen snatched it from my hand and instantly began inhaling the puffs of medicine. I squatted before her, holding her hand comfortingly.

"Ok?" I asked soothingly. Nadia nodded, finally taking in deep breaths.

"She's fine now get out!" Cody barked.

"I'm a valuable hostage Cody." countered, staring at the boy calmly.

"More valuable than a room full of kids?! Get out now! Or we all die." Cody tried again.

"Hon, you're surrounded by marines who all think you're crazy. Cody I'm the last chance you have of getting out of here alive." I told him seriously.

"Don't call me hon." the boy muttered weakly as he eyed me thoughtfully. It was obvious that he was shaken by what I had told him.

"Shut the door." He finally instructed. I nodded and did as he asked. Cody nudged a boy in the desk beside him, making the teen flinch violently.

"Search her." Cody ordered. The boy quickly lept up and walked over towards me. I held up my hands, waiting for the search. The boy stood there and scanned me over uncomfortably before turning back to Cody.

"Like…like they do on Cops." Cody shrugged, imitating a pat down on his own person as explanation. I smirked in amusement.

"That's quite the reference there hon. Is that where you learned all this from?" I asked him, trying to see if he would slip up. Cody glowered at me.

"Stop calling me that! You're trying to get me to relate to you and it's not working." He insisted. The other boy glanced away from me shyly as he began patting down my shoulders. Once he reached my torso he paused and looked at me in alarm. I grinned comfortingly.

"Go ahead, I won't bite. Just watch where you put your hands." I warned teasingly. The teen blushed but continued regardless.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

From the 'control center' Tony and Ziva were watching the hallway on the feed, all the while listening in to what was going on in the room.

"Of course she didn't go armed." Tony muttered sourly, listening intently to what was going on over his headset. He was livid and terrified that Claire would do something as reckless as waltzing right into a room with a crazy teen with a bomb strapped to his chest. Her motherly nature for kids was gonna come back to bite her one of these days. He just hoped today was not that day.

"Where's Stephanie?" Ziva asked, breaking my morbid train of thought.

"She should be getting home soon." I told her, leaning back against the desk.

"This kid is smart." Tony mused, as they listened to the very knowledgeable instructions on where to look. This came from more than just cop shows.

"Not smart, he's trained. This could be a political statement." Ziva muttered thoughtfully.

"He's a 15 year old kid." Tony defended.

"Well I've seen 12 year old suicide bombers in Israel." She countered pointedly.

"Ziva hes not a terrorist." Tony insisted.

"Says who?" Ziva argued.

"Claire wouldn't have gone in there if she thought he was." He defended adamantly. Ziva scoffed.

"She's too soft when it comes to kids. Maybe she is distracted by their age. You can't base your thought process off of what she would think. Think for yourself." She spat at him. Tony glared in her direction.

"I do think for myself, but the thing is that I trust Claire with my life. She's good at reading people and I trust her decisions. I know trusting is a foreign concept to you but for us its vital." He told her seriously. Ziva pursed her lips, knowing that he had a point.

"Well then he's obviously mentally disturbed and if that's the case then I think…."

"Not now." Tony cut her off, paying attention once again to what was going on in the room.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

"She's clean, Cody." the boy, who I learned was called Joe, told him quietly as he finished placing all of my belongings on the desk. Cody stood quietly, staring at the floor intently.

"Check her ears." He instructed after a moment. How would he know that? This is more than just watching some TV shows.

"What?" Joe asked in confusion.

"Do it." Cody pressed. Joe gently tilted my head side to side, looking in my ears.

"She's wearing some sort of hearing aid." He informed, gesturing to the earwig.

"Take it out." Cody ordered, looking at me intently. I complied and placed it into Joe's hands.

"Check his wrists." Cody added. I stared at him as Joe did as he was told. Cody couldn't meet my gaze and rubbed his arm subconsciously as if he was shying away from my scolding gaze. Joe found the clip on mic and took it off, showing both devices to Cody who frowned.

"Step on both of them." He ordered. I stared down at the ground but didn't protest. With a shrug Joe crushed both of my devices, cutting me off from the rest of my team. Looks like I'm going solo for this…fantastic.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Tony winced violently as the static ringing burst through the headset he was wearing. He rolled his eyes and massaged his ears as the pain subsided.

"Very well trained." Ziva sighed.

"Yea." Tony grunted in agreement, his ears still ringing. He sighed and stared at the hallway feed. The closest thing he could get to making sure Claire was ok. The fact that she was left in there on her own with an active bomb attached to a twitchy kid made his stomach knot up painfully. On top of that he now had to take charge on scene, seeing as the point was out of commission and Gibbs was off doing who knows what for this case. This day just kept getting worse and worse. Tony clicked through various blueprints and pictures that they had managed to acquire.

"We need eyes in that classroom." He noted.

"SET snaked camera's through the vents here and here, however both were taped shut. Cody was covering his plates." Ziva pointed out on the blueprints of the room.

"Bases." Tony corrected absently before pointing to a spot on the computer.

"What about that door." He suggested.

...

Inside the classroom Cody was watching as he had his classmates tape up the bottom of the door with duct tape. He was smart, but the level of knowledge he had about this started to set off some red flags in Claire's mind.

"Now make sure you cover every crack." He insisted. Claire sat atop a desk on the other end of the room, just silently watching, taking in Cody's movements and reactions. The teen looked over and glowered at her.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with here." He pointed out lowly. She said nothing but rose a brow in interest. If only he was aware of who _he_ was dealing with. Cody stiffened up at her silence and turned back to watch his classmates, actively avoiding her gaze.

...

 **Abby's POV:**

McGee was scanning over the websites that Cody had frequently visited while I was busy sorting through the physical evidence I had been gifted. I was anxious to get all I could back to Tony so I could help Claire get out of there faster. It was stupid to go barging in there but knowing her I would expect nothing less.

"I think it's safe to say that Cody has some suicidal tendencies, you should see his webpage. It's all about death and dying. The kid was obsessed." McGee told me as he read over Cody's blog. I pursed my lips in curiosity. There's nothing innately wrong with that stuff.

"So….what's your point?" I asked, starting to put up some of Cody's effects.

"The point is he probably worked up the nerve to do something about it." McGee clarified.

"It's not the kids who talk about dying that you have to worry about Timmy, it's the ones who stay quiet." I countered.

"Abby I've been in this kid's room ok? It's all black with skulls everywhere and he listens to death metal." He continued as he swiveled around.

"Oh." Abby hummed sarcastically. My room looked exactly as he described, what was he trying to say. McGee huffed, knowing that this 'evidence' was going to work.

"There's nothing wrong with those things if you are an adult." He amended, pointing at me. I scoffed in amusement.

"McGee….you slaughter people online. Are you going to become a mass murderer?" I pointed out, raising my brows challengingly.

"I did not take my classroom hostage." He argued lightly.

"Oh yea? Did you ever think about it?" I shot back with a knowing grin. McGee was silent and glanced downwards, further proving my point. With a grin, I began listing out the facts that contradicted the seemingly accepted theory.

"You said the bomb sniffing dogs didn't alert to anything inside Cody's house. I haven't found any explosive markers on any of his clothing or his effects. He didn't visit any bomb making websites. And these photos they show us, nothing." I explained, pulling up one of the better views of the bomb and walking over to the plasma screen.

"Maybe his bomb is fake." I suggested. McGee tilted his head in thought before strolling up to stand next to me.

"You believe that?" he asked skeptically. I lifted my head up in certainty.

"…no."

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Joe and one of his teammates were pushing one of the heavy bookshelves across the doorframe, as Cody had ordered. He more than likely didn't want any more unexpected guests barging in like I had done.

"We can end this now, Cody. You tell me what you want and we'll get it for you" I told him.

"I'm not making any demands until I speak with a negotiator." her countered sternly. I sighed and stood up from my spot on the desk across the room.

"I am the negotiator." I informed with a small grin.

"They wouldn't send a negotiator busting through the door, I'm not stupid." Cody argued with a sneer. "No one says you are, if anything I was the stupid one." I quipped jokingly.

"Just be quiet." He spat defensively.

"Hurry up." He growled at the two boys. I watched as he started to tense up, clearly adgitated by everything going on.

"Relax Cody." I told him, in an attempted to keep him calm.

"stop saying my name!" he snapped. Clearly he didn't like me calling him by anything that was deemed friendly. At his outburst Nadia went into another fit of sobs.

"You know you're not going to build a relationship with me, so keep talking and I really will end this now." Cody told me warningly. I said nothing but glanced over at Nadia. Like I had hoped, Cody followed my gaze and his defensive stance instantly softened. So he was sympathetic and secretly caring about those who were outwardly frightened. He was fine as long as no one showed how terrified they actually were.

"Nadia, Nadia you have to stop that please." Cody asked her with a huff as he walked over.

"I can't Cody, I can't." She sniffled tearfully. Cody shook his head in frustration, obviously fighting an inner battle.

"She's scared, Cody." I pointed out, starting to walk towards the front of the room.

"Yea like she's the only one." Cody quipped, instinctively walking towards the back. The two of us almost doing some sort of dance around the room. The boy was determined to distance himself from me, emotionally and physically. However, his little side comment caught my interest. He was scared too, understandable in a way but it was the way he said it that really stuck out. It was almost like he was the victim in the situation.

"You're right. They're all scared, just wanna go home and see their parents." I added, once again sitting on the teacher's desk. Now Cody had maneuvered himself on the complete opposite end of the room as me.

"You expect me to identify with them huh?" Cody accused.

"Why do you assume that everything I say is for a psychological effect? Cody, I'm here to help you. Let me help." I told him sincerely. Cody paused, eyeing me before stiffening right back up again.

"You just want me to see them as people so it'll make it harder for me to do anything." He countered, as if trying to convince himself that this was my true intent. I watched him, curios as to how he came to know all these tactics. It's not exactly common knowledge.

"They are people Cody." I reminded.

"Stop saying my name!" he shouted angrily.

"One more word and I press this button." He warned, pacing closer towards her as he held up the detonator in his fist. I stared at him silently. I may have lost this small battle but I was looking to win the war, so I will have no problem waiting this out.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back in the command center Tony watched the hall camera feed tensely.

"WWGD." He muttered.

"Is that a weapons acronym?" Ziva inquired as she paced beside him.

"No…it stands for What Would Gibbs Do?" he clarified, straightening up to lean his hands on the desk before him. Gibbs was gone and Claire was gone, leaving him to run this solo. Yes, he could make decisions on his own but it was comforting to have someone to back him up or to bounce ideas off of. He wasn't so sure Ziva would be doing any of that.

"Well it's too bad we can't ask him. Or Claire as she was in charge but decided to ditch us." she countered with a huff. He pursed my lips and began to counter her statement but something she said sparked a thought. Tony bit his lip as he mulled over some new ideas.

"Captain, your teams are in place?" he asked the man, not looking away from the screens as his mind began running through options and strategies.

"We've got 3 snipers in position sir. When the target looks out the blinds again…"

"No one takes a shot unless I clear it. You're with me." Tony snatched off his headset and gestured for the commander to tag along.

"Where are you going?" Ziva asked, just watching him walk away with no explaination.

"To talk to Cody." Tony answered breifly as he started in that direction.

...

In the room, Cody peeked out the blinds, scanning their surroundings outside.

"You'll wanna stay away from the windows, hon." Claire pointed out as she watched him from against the wall. If he wanted to remain on opposing ends of the room then she would play along until he would allow otherwise. Cody turned to her in confusion.

"What because of snipers?" he asked warily before shaking off the thought.

"They wouldn't shoot a kid." He dismissed before peeking out again.

"I wouldn't count on that." Claire countered seriously. Cody drew his hands away but didn't turn. Instead he swallowed and went back to the window, opting to dismiss her advice. Realizing that breaking through his tough guy exterior was going to take a while, Claire pursed her lips and glanced around the room trying to get some other ideas going. She spotted a thermostat on a the wall not too far from her.

"It's not too late to fix this." she began, causally making her way towards the device. Cody had his back towards her but she wanted to be sure it would go unnoticed.

"What are you going to reason with me? Go ahead, really go ahead. Convince me that I'm not in trouble." He quipped back sarcastically. Claire rolled her eyes to the ceiling in annoyance. Teenagers were so moody. In one motion she swiped the thermostat up a few degrees and took a few steps away from it.

"Oh no you're in trouble." She assured, now leaning on the desk in the front.

"What did you just do?" Cody immediately asked as he whipped around to face her. He glanced all around the area she had been in, as if looking for something out of place. Claire tilted her head and stared at him curiously. His back was to her the whole time, so how did he see her?

"Nothing, just wanting to make conversation." She lied easily.

"No..you…you just did something. What was it?" Cody insisted, taking some steps closer to her in an almost pleading voice. Claire frowned in confusion but before she could answer him another voice came from across the door.

"Cody this is Special Agent DiNozzo. How's Nadia?" Tony asked from the hallway. Cody relaxed from his tense pose and began pacing, his hands on his hips.

"She's fine for now." Cody answered.

"What about the other kids?" Tony inquired.

"They're fine ok?!" Cody snapped, angrily flailing his hands in the air.

"Well I'd love to take your word on that but I'm going to need some proof Cody. Open the door." Tony suggested calmly.

"No. No way, you try to get in here and I'm…I'm …I'm setting this off." Cody warned once more.

"No one's coming in. I'd like to speak with Special Agent Conners." Tony requested. Claire's attention was taken off Cody once she heard this.

"Everybody's ok…boss." She told him. Tony's eyebrows shot up at the word, but then he grinned to himself. He rather liked the sound of her calling him boss.

"Well that's good to hear…..Special Agent Conners." Tony responded, the formal use of her title sounded foreign to him.

"Conners said she was your negotiator." Cody added.

"That's right he's my best man or woman rather." Tony went along. He wasn't lying, she was the negotiator.

"Well she's a moron for getting caught in here." Cody quipped, shooting Claire a look. She smirked in amusement.

"She always had an attitude problem." Tony instantly responded, his mouth running off without his brain. Claire bit the inside of her lip, trying to fight off a grin. Outside, Tony grimaced and clenched his eyes shut. He knew he was going to pay for that later. Tony silently repositioned himself so he was standing directly in front of the door rather than beside it.

"We're all going to get through this together. What do you say to that Cody?" Tony tried another tactic.

"Look I want the man in charge. Not the field commander, the one who makes the final decision." Cody told him.

"That's me, Cody." Tony told him after a pause. It was kinda daunting to realize that with Gibbs and Claire out of the equation that it really was him.

"So if I wanted a plane and a million dollars you would just give it to me?" Cody asked warily. Tony frowned in confusion and took a step closer to the door.

"Is that what you want?" he asked.

"Answer my question." Cody deflected irritably.

"I'll make some calls." Tony told him vaugely.

"Are you the man or not?" Cody asked again in exasperation. Tony swallowed.

"I'm the one you want." He insisted. Cody nodded and swallowed.

"Bring my mother to the classroom." He eventually requested, a resigned and tired tone to his voice. On the other side, Tony's frowned deepened.

"No deals, no stalling. You have until sundown. If..if…if you can't do that then….everyone dies." Cody added seriously. However, as he requested it, his eyes shot over to Claire with some emotion she couldn't decipher as they were hidden by his mop of hair. Tony nodded silently before taking off back down the hall to make some phone calls. Claire watched Cody as the boy walked back over to the windows quietly. Something was hinky but with her lack of outside access, it would be like pulling teeth to find out just what it was.

...

In the command center, Ziva was talking with Cody's father. "I want to see my son." Major Meyers demanded.

"That's not happening major." Ziva calmly countered.

"The hell it's not." The man bristled.

"Calm down." Ziva told him, warning the man with her eyes. The man backed off.

"I need to see he's ok." Mr. Meyers told her with a calmer tone this time.

"Besides from holding 5 people hostage, he's doing great." Tony told the man sarcastically as he strode into the room.

"What does Cody want?" Ziva asked.

"He wants his mother brought to him." Tony answered, looking over at the man.

"Oh god." Mr. Meyers instantly groaned.

"What?" Ziva inquired warily.

"Cody's mother is dead." he told them with a sad expression. Ziva and Tony shot each other alarmed looks. This was not what they were hoping for.


	52. Chapter 52

[Bait:2]

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Major Meyers sat down with the investigators, explaining the situation surrounding Cody's lost mother.

"She died a year ago. A boating accident, Angela liked sailing. Cody took it….well….we all took it hard." He explained to them, the evidence of lingering hurt on his face.

"Clearly." Ziva muttered. The man shot her a glare.

"Cody's had difficulties but he's never acted out before." He defended. Ziva pursed her lips.

"Your son strapped a bomb to his chest, kidnapped his homeroom and it demanding to see his dead mother. I'd say he's past the acting out stage major. And frankly..."

"Let me talk to him. I can calm him down, I can get him out of there." The major suggested, put off by Ziva's accusatory tone.

"Contact with you may only exasperate the situation." Tony countered quietly.

"Hes' my son. He's having a breakdown; his mind is playing tricks on him." the major clenched his jaw. Tony looked up at him curiously.

"Tricks? What kind of tricks?" Tony asked. The man visibly deflated but said nothing. Tony's brows rose and he leaned forward.

"Listen if this is gonna end well we need all the intel you can give us on your son." he coaxed seriously.

"Cody thought he saw his mother a couple of months ago." Major Meyers explained.

"Alive?" Ziva questioned.

"His therapist says its completely normal. Like a coping mechanism. A lot of people imagine seeing dead loved ones." The major quickly added in his son's defense.

"Well it's the part where he wants to talk to her that's got us a little worried." Tony pointed out.

"I saw the SRT teams outside the school…I know what comes next." The major told them sternly. Tony's gaze shot down to the floor, thinking about the boy's father spotting all the snipers that were ready to take out his 15-year-old son. The major stood up before Tony.

"I'm begging you, please give my boy a chance." He asked them sincerely. Tony met his stare this time with determination.

"We're gonna do all we can to get all of those kids out safely major." He assured.

"All of them. Including your son." He added for emphasis, his expression never wavering. Out of the corner of his eye he could spot Ziva wincing at his promise but didn't comment.

"Thank you." Major Meyers nodded.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

The thermostat had been kicking into high gear, quickly heating up the small area as I had hoped. Thankfully I was dressed in lighter clothing so it didn't make it obvious that the temperature had been adjusted. Cody however was sweltering in his large hoodie that was covering the bomb.

"There are easier ways to see your mother, Cody." I pointed out from one of the desks next to the students. We had progressed from standing on opposite sides of the room but he still kept his distance from me.

"It's none of your business." Cody countered defensively.

"You made it my business when you threatened their lives." I pointed out dryly, nodding my head towards the kids. Cody huffed out, clearly becoming distressed.

"It's not up to me, ok?" he told me in exasperation. This got my attention. Finally he had slipped up in his wording.

"Who's it up to?" I asked him gently. Cody instantly heaved out shaky breaths, grabbing at his hair.

"You can't fix this." he told me instead, pleading with his eyes. I stared at him in sympathy, just wanting to help the kid but he wasn't making it easy.

"Let me try, I'm good at it." I prodded, hoping to make use of his vulnerability. Cody stared at me thoughtfully before shaking his head.

"No one can fix this." he insisted, holding back frightened tears. I clenched my jaw.

"I don't wanna fix it, I wanna end it." I countered seriously. Cody's eyes blurred with tears.

"You just have the answers for everything don't you." He muttered sarcastically. In his distracted state Cody turned only to trip over one of the side tables, sending him toppling over. I quickly stood and made my way over to help him up but Cody flinched and shot away from me.

"No, no! stay away from me" he spat out quickly and held up the detonator. I frowned sadly but backed off like he wanted. And now I was back to square one with him.

"Cody, is everything alright in there?" Tony called from outside the door. Cody shot away from the doorframe that he had been leaning against.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" he screeched, his level of calmness quickly dwindling.

"Just giving you an update. I wanna let you know that special agent Caitlyn Todd is out looking for your mom." Tony explained. I froze at the familiar name and looked at the door, my heart clenching. Oh god.

"Don't come back until you find her." Cody ordered, not picking up on my change in demeanor. I clenched her eyes shut in dismay. There was no mother. Cody was asking for a dead woman.

"I won't tell you again." Cody added, starting to calm down some.

"Alright I'm going." Tony assured. I ran a hand down my face wearily. I trusted Tony with my life but it would take some miracle to pull this off.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Outside Tony clenched his jaw, his nerves becoming frayed as the situation continued to escalate. When he had approached, the sounds of distress and fumbling on the other side of the door had scared him for a moment with his mind jumping to the worst case scenario. As he reluctantly walked away with the commander in tow, he lost himself in dark thoughts and worst-case scenarios.

"How are you gonna tell Agent Conners that the kid's mom is dead?" the commander asked curiously.

"I already did, special agent Todd is dead." Tony answered dryly before answering his ringing cell. Gibbs once again had impeccable timing, at least now he could get some help on what to do next.

...

Walking towards the command center Tony was growing tired of the pestering.

"SRT is in place and we're working on getting visual access and a way to contact Claire." He rattled off, striding into the offices.

"And?" Gibbs droned.

"and we're just getting started." Tony quipped.

"What's your deadline?" his boss continued. Tony glanced out the window nervously.

"Sundown, so about 5 hours." He muttered. He could hear Gibbs sigh in frustration on the other end of the line.

"How powerful is the bomb, do you know?" he asked instead.

"Uh don't know yet, Abby and McGee are still going through the kid's computer and everything found in his room, trying to work out what the explosive is." Tony explained. Ziva quietly perched on the edge of a desk and watched him.

"Deadman switch?" Gibbs inquired.

"I'm hoping they can tell us that." He replied tensely.

"And if he doesn't?" Gibbs asked, letting he implications set in.

"You want me to take him out?" Tony asked skeptically.

"Well what do you think DiNozzo?" Gibbs shot back.

"I promised them all out alive boss, including Cody." Tony deflected.

"Yea well sometimes you can't control that, are you capable of making the call?" Gibbs badgered.

"I've done it before." Tony shrugged off.

"On a kid?" Gibbs asked knowingly.

"If it happens DiNozzo you can't hesitate, or second guess…" Tony angrily threw his hat across the room as Gibbs continued. First his girlfriend goes headfirst into a room with an unstable teen carrying a bomb and now his boss who was supposed to be helping was badgering him on his capabilities as a leader. This was enough stress then he cared to take at the moment.

"Ok if you don't trust me with your team then relive me, otherwise I have work to do." Tony spat in a formal tone before abruptly handing up. On the other end of the phone…Gibbs grinned proudly. Tony took deep breaths as he tried to get his emotions back under control, pulling the headset back on. Ziva rose a brow and sauntered up to him.

"He asked if you had the gazonas for this, yes?" she inquired. Tony shot her an unamused glanced.

"Gahonas." He corrected quietly.

"Do you?" she asked. Tony let out a heavy breath as he braced against the counter. Did he?

...

In the NCIS lab, McGee blinked rapidly to clear the dryness from his eyes as Abby paced around in circles, her hands on her hips in thought.

"There is no way that kid assembled that bomb at his house." she began. McGee hummed absently in agreement.

"Which means?" she probed staring at him intently over the shelf at him. McGee frowned down at the screen.

"Which means he either made it somewhere else or someone helped him. What do you think?" she asked again, coming to stand beside him.

"Sounds good." McGee told her instinctively, not looking up from the screen. Abby punched him in the shoulder. Tim stared over at her in bewilderment.

"What…what was that for?" he asked, his voice going up a pitch incredulously.

"You're not paying attention to me, I'm trying to tell you I think there's more kids out there. Maybe this is part of a larger plan." She explained, frowning at him and wringing her hands.

"I don't think so, Cody believes that his mother is still alive. Look at this." he quickly pulled up a site displaying pictures of Mrs. Meyers.

"He put her photo up all over the web, asking if anyone had seen her. He expects us to find her." McGee elaborated. Abby frowned thoughtfully.

"This could be a good thing." She muttered before typing away at her computer.

"There are no traces of explosives at his house. No bomb making materials, there are no plans or schematics for construction on his computer so….it has got to be a fake." Abby concluded.

"…I hope." She added as an afterthought. Something on the photos caught McGee's eye and he leaped up, taking over her typing.

"Oh, it would help if you could get a better look at it right?" he asked rhetorically.

"Well how would we do that?" Abby inquired. McGee zoomed in on a corner of the room they had had managed to capture.

"Three computers in the back of the classroom,…"

"With webcams and a mic." Abby concluded.

"All we have to do is hack in." McGee told her excitedly.

"We'll have eyes and ears and we can see the bomb." Abby grinned. They both beamed at one another before Abby turned and punched him again.

"Hey!" McGee shouted, turning to glare at her.

"We should have thought of that hours ago." She scolded before turning and tensing up.

"Don't be gentle." She gestured to her own shoulder before tensing up again.

"I'm not gonna hit you." He argued with a scoff.

"Come on, I deserve it." She insisted.

"No." McGee countered sternly. Abby turned and squinted at him irritably.

"Elf-lord" she taunted before tensing up. McGee's face scrunched in annoyance as he glared up at the ceiling.

Outside a technician looked up in confusion as he heard Abby shout from inside.

...

Back at control, Tony and Ziva had been informed of the plan and were waiting for the camera feed to show up on their portable computers.

"I don't see squat Probie." Tony growled tiredly as he stared at a blank screen.

"Are your laptops even on?" Tim shot back.

"Probie it's not the time." Tony reminded.

"Wait, Tony it's on our end. It's still buffering." Abby explained, easily diffusing the tension between the two.

"That should do it." She told them as video feed of Cody pacing in front of the camera came up.

"You are amazing Abby." Ziva grinned.

"Actually that was my idea.." McGee insisted before a thump cut him off.

"Will you stop doing that?" he shouted. Tony and Ziva frowned as the sound of muffled thumping rang through the speakers.

"Hey cut that out."

"Ow!" Abby shrieked before cutting off the phone call.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Cody sighed as he continued to get hotter and hotter.

"Why is it so hot in here?" he muttered, roughly unzipping his hoodie. My eyes instantly shot down to examine the device strapped to the boy's chest. Well now I know that this is very real.

"You can walk away from this." I reminded him. Cody groaned in annoyance and sputtered.

"Do you have any idea what they would do to me if I walked out of this building?" he asked incredulously.

"They won't touch you." I assured easily.

"You have no idea." Cody countered tiredly.

"I won't let them." I told him sternly. Cody scoffed as he paced towards the window. As his back turned I spotted on of the computers go blank before some typing started up. **Claire, we can see you**. I remained still as not to give anything away but inwardly let out a sigh of relief. Now we're getting somewhere. However, it looked like I wasn't the only one that saw this new development. Nadia glanced back and spotted the words, causing her to gasp and drop her inhaler. Instantly the words vanished and I walked over to pick up the inhaler on the floor. Cody glanced around worriedly.

"What did you just do?" he asked. I made eye contact with Nadia, silently telling her to keep quiet.

"What just happened?" Cody asked again.

"I..I don't.."

"She dropped her inhaler." I quickly covered for the teen, holding up the device. Cody rolled his eyes but didn't ask again. Mulling it over in my head, I decided to go a different route than my previous methods.

"Why don't you let Nadia go, Cody. As a sign of good faith while we look for your mom." I suggested after a moment. Cody groaned.

"No one leaves….do you get this…it…." He huffed in frustration. I watched him intently as he opened his mouth but at the last second closed it back up, holding back what he was about to say. He let out a huff and leaned against the computer. Come on kid I need ya to spill the beans here. I just hope that the team was having more luck than I was.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

As Cody leaned right up against the computer he gave the control center a perfect and up close shot of the bomb that was now on full display for the webcam.

"Several blasting caps wired into a central circuit board. Four visible charges, all equipped with nails to inflict maximum shrapnel damage. This is no fake bomb, Tony." Ziva explained.

"The good news is the detonator appears to be a remote in his hand." She pointed out.

"Good news?" Tony whispered doubtfully.

"Well it doesn't seem to be a Deadman switch." She told him. Tony thought back to his conversation with Gibbs and his stomach churned.

"A headshot will stop this without setting off the bomb." She continued in Tony's silence.

"Just like that…..a headshot." He muttered worriedly. Ziva hummed and nodded easily. Tony however was far from comforted by that thought. Just by his simple command he had the power to take the life of a very distressed and confused 15-year-old kid. That thought scared him, and having no one to back him up other than the Israeli assassin didn't help the situation either. It was moment like these when he desperately wished Claire could talk to them, give some insight onto what the right thing to do would be.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Cody continued pacing along the side of the windows. Once his back was turned I subtly nodded at the monitor. **Mom is dead…..last year**. Was the response typed out on the screen. I pursed my lips thoughtfully. Well this created quite the problem, her death is still pretty fresh.

"Tell me about your mom, hon." I asked kindly, turning to look at him. cod visibly deflated but didn't answer. Alright, I'll play hardball then.

"Doesn't she want to see you?" I prodded, knowing it would hit a nerve.

"Don't say that." Cody instantly replied. I shrugged innocently, maintaining the act that I had no idea about his mom.

"Just wondering why you're threatening to blow all of us up. Just to see her." I pointed out, making my way towards him. I stopped a few desks away from him, to give him space as he tried to keep his composure.

"Because I just do." He replied lamely. I nodded.

"She's dead Cody." I told him. Cody stopped pacing and just stared at me sadly.

"I know." He admitted quietly, the pain still visible on his face. I stared at him pointedly as we watched one another. Cody stiffened as he realized what had just slipped out.

"I know…I know I saw her…SHUT UP!" he suddenly snarled at me. Cody began breathing heavily as he fought to keep his emotions locked away. In doing so he smoothed back a section of his hair and turned to look out the window. I spotted a small earpiece in his ear. This wasn't Cody calling the shots after all. No wonder I kept getting mixed signals from the kid. Now to just let everyone else know.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Outside a sniper centered in on Cody's forehead as the boy peered out the blinds of the window.

"Target acquired" he relayed back to Tony who was still watching from the computer feed.

"I say again, target is acquired." The man repeated while DiNozzo thought silently. Like he had feared, the choice of life and death became his decision.

"We may not get another chance sir." The commander pointed out, looking to the agent who still had yet to say anything.

"Do I have a go, over?" the sniper asked.

"Tony." Ziva prodded as they all watched him stand there staring hard at the camera feed.

"Shot is still good sir, over." The sniper added insistently.

"Sir we're gonna lose the target." The commander told him. After what seemed like an eternity, Tony finally spoke up.

"He's not a target, he's a 15-year-old boy who misses his mom." he countered. He stared hard at the feed. As if sensing his distress Claire turned to stare right at the camera feed. In that moment Tony's thoughts cleared up and he knew his answer.

"All sniper units stand down do not take the shot." Tony quickly ordered, much to the surprise of everyone else.

"Why?" Ziva asked him.

"It's a Gibbs thing." he muttered dismissively. Ziva furrowed her brows in confusion.

"My gut." He elaborated for her.

...

In the classroom, Claire was watching Cody stare out the window as the sun continued to set. She stared at the device in Cody's ear. Clear and wrapped around the top, making it easily hidden behind his long hair. Cody huffed and started to move back to his pacing when he caught Claire staring at him silently. Cody furrowed his brows as he moved and noticed she didn't lessen her gaze; it began eating away at him.

"What…don't…don't look….what are you doing just…just get away from me!" he snapped, shifting away from her like a cornered animal. Claire shrugged and turned so that her body was shielding the camera from Cody who was now behind her. She subtly brought her hands up and began moving them in an up and down motion, trying to utilize some of the sign language Abby had taught her. However, it was a bit of a struggle as she couldn't afford to move her arms much.

...

"She's signing." Abby realized as she and McGee watched the video feed from her lab.

"What is she saying?" McGee asked.

"I can't tell, she's not being obvious about it." Abby muttered, squinting at Claire's hands. She watched as Claire began signing letters instead.

"Wait." Abby thought for a moment before darting over to her keyboard to type. **Puppet?** Claire crossed her arms causally glancing at the items on the wall as she signed 'yes' back to Abby.

"Puppet? What does that mean?" Abby wandered back over to McGee as they both thought.

"I don't know." He muttered in confusion. Abby absently began imitating what Claire's original motions were as she thought.

"Wait, not puppet. Its marionet. Claire's saying that somebody's pulling Cody's strings." She realized.

"What like controlling him?"

"Not just controlling him McGee….controlling the bomb." Abby elaborated gravely.

"If someone's controlling Cody, they have to be talking to him." she added as an afterthought. The two techies thought for a moment before turning to face one another in sync.

"Ear wig." They both realized.

"Ask Claire." McGee instructed. Abby was well ahead of him and already typed the message.

"Wait hold it." he warned as he watched Cody come into view. They both waited until Claire was once more blocking the view of the monitor from the boy. **Earwig?** Claire subtly nodded a yes once more.

"Why did you just nod?" Cody suddenly asked from behind her. Claire turned to look at him in confusion, easily covering up her surprise.

"What?" she asked.

"You just nodded." Cody insisted. McGee's eyes widened as he watched it all play out. There was no way Cody would have seen it.

"Did I?" Claire asked innocently.

"Yes!" Cody snapped in frustration.

"How did he see that? His back was to Claire." McGee muttered.

"I don't know, nervous, jumpy I guess." Claire shrugged dramatically. Cody glared and watched her skeptically.

"Were you signaling someone in this room?" he asked seriously. Claire snorted in disbelief.

"No." she told him dryly. Cody continued staring her down.

"I swear." She added.

"They're not just talking to Cody. They have eyes in the classroom too McGee." Abby explained.

"Tony did you copy that?" Tim asked over the speakerphone.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

"Roger that, now dirt bags have eyes and ears in the classroom." I grumbled tiredly. This is just what I needed…not.

"Good." Ziva mused. I turned to glower at her in confusion.

"Good?" I asked skeptically. With them having ears and eyes in the room, it made it harder for us to do anything without setting them off. And we don't even know who 'they' are. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"We backtrack the feed, it will lead us to them." She explained. My eyes lit up in realization. That actually wasn't a bad idea.

"Earwigs only have a limited range and a handful of frequencies. We have the equipment here to sweep it." The commander pipped up from beside us.

"Do it." I told him. The commander nodded and quickly dashed off.

"Abby SRT is going ahead to trace the source of the ears, can you guys to the same thing with the eyes?" I questioned. Any link we had to the bad guys was just another way for us to track them before we hit the deadline.

"McGee?" Abby asked.

"We have 3 computers with eyes in the back of the classroom. We're using one of them, they must be using…."

"The one with the blocked router, the one we couldn't hack into before." Abby finished for him.

"How long?" I inquired impatently.

"It depends. They could be using counterattack software, or a sophisticated encryption system.." I narrowed my eyes in annoyance as McGee rambled on about the specifications and what ifs of the system.

"Probie." I barked.

"On it boss." McGee quickly replied. My eyes shot up in surprise at his response.

"..Tony." he quickly amended with a groan. I bit my lip and let out a snicker.

"What?" Ziva asked, already knowing what was so amusing.

"He called me boss." I mumbled with a smug grin. First Claire and now McGee, this was truly a highlight of the week.

"Yes, is he ever going to live that down?" she mused.

"Nope." I instantly replied, my grin widening.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

I sat in a desk near the back of the class as Cody paced the front.

"What happens if they can't find your mom Cody?" Nadia nervously questioned. Cody paused and stared down at her emotionlessly.

"You know what will happen." He replied dryly.

"Cody just let us go man." Joe pipped up weakly.

"SHUT UP!" Cody snarled at him instantly. At his outburst Nadia went into another fit of tears. Cody softened as he stood beside her desk. It was interesting how defensive he was around the boys but when it came to girls he instantly softened his demeanor. Maybe it was for the best that I was the one that busted in here. Who knows what would have happened if one of the boys tried to do this.

"Just don't…don't ask me that again. Ok Nadia?" he requested gently. Nadia nodded.

"You don't wanna carry out your threat do ya Cody" I pointed out. Cody frowned at me.

"No." he answered as if it was obvious. He turned but whipped back around as if remembering something.

"But…I …I will if I don't talk to my mother." He added lamely, trying to keep up his brave façade. I nodded thoughtfully and stood up, making my way forward.

"Talk or see? We might have time to.."

"See, see. I have to see her right here in my homeroom." Cody quickly clarified.

"I'm just saying that talking to her might give us more time." I pointed out.

"There is no more time ok?! She has to be here before sunset." Cody shrieked in distress, his face visibly paling as he looked at the fading light coming through. There really wasn't much more time to spare. I thought for a moment, looking for something to stall with.

"Nautical, civilian or astronomical?" I questioned. Cody looked at me in confusion.

"What?" he huffed.

"Which sunset, there are three." I elaborated innocently. Cody shrugged.

"Before it gets dark." He answered.

"Astronomical." I grinned smugly. Cody stared at me in bewilderment.

"Are you always a smartass in serious situations?" he asked seriously. I grinned in amusement. At least I was getting him to loosen up a little.

"It's part of my charm." I mused.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"How are we doing commander?" Tony nervously asked as he paced by the man.

"We're narrowing it down." He assured before turning back to work. Tony nodded tensely and made his way back over towards Ziva.

"I can't stand doing nothing while everyone else is working." Tony muttered irritably. He was a man of action, sitting here watching everyone else work was excruciating for him. Especially considering his girlfriend was the one on the line here.

"Then do something." Ziva snapped.

"Any suggestions Zi-vah." Tony countered.

"Yes DiNozzo. We didn't really have time to question major Meyers. He may be able to tell us who's controlling his son." she pointed out.

"Commander, have your men bring major Meyers in here." Tony requested.

"That's gonna be a problem. The major was taken to NCIS headquarters." The man informed. Tony frowned.

"I didn't authorize that." he countered.

"sir your boss did." The commander explained.

"My boss is a hostage right now, I don't think she's authorizing much of anything." Tony pointed to the camera feed.

"Not that boss sir." The commander sighed.

"Right now, she's the only boss I have other than Gibbs who would contact me about this." Tony countered in confusion.

"Uh uh…you're forgetting the director" Ziva pointed out. Tony raised his brows in surprise. Must be what Gibbs was up to, getting Jenny to pull some strings for their case. Once that situation was cleared up Tony and Ziva began analyzing the bomb on Cody's chest once more now that they realized he was just being used.

"The detonator in Cody's hand is a prop, whoever is being this has the real one." Ziva explained.

"You think?" Tony muttered curiously.

"Yes." she sighed in exasperation.

"I think shooting Cody wouldn't have saved anybody in that classroom." She added pointedly. Tony whipped his head to look at her in surprise. In her own way, she was letting him know that he had made the right decision.

"It doesn't make you Gibbs." She quipped with a frown, already knowing what his smug mind was thinking. Tony smirked before getting back to the topic at hand. If Ziva was handing out compliment who was he to shoot them down.

"Someone went through a lot of trouble to raise Angela Meyers from the grave." Tony mused.

"Well he, she or they don't believe she's dead." Ziva commented.

"They intend to kill her with a big boom." She sighed.

"And blame it all on Cody." Tony added sadly. If it wasn't for Claire's communication and sharp eye, that's exactly what would have happened.

"We got the freq. on Cody's earwig." The commander informed from behind them. Tony instantly perked up and turned to the man eagerly.

"Where?" he asked.

"Don't know, they're communicating in short bursts. We can't get an accurate fix." The commander sighed. Tony groaned in frustration and thought hard. They needed more time.

...

In a van parked on a street close to the schoolyard two Latino men sat watching a video feed of the classroom. Cody pacing like he had been while the agent sat near the back with the rest of the students.

"Enjoy this next hour, Cody. It will be your last if your mother doesn't show." He warned. Cody tensed up as the message relayed over the earpiece and he turned to Claire frantically.

"We're….we're running out of time. Where's my mother?" Cody asked her.

"If I talk to my boss you'll get a progress report." Claire told him calmly.

"Ok put his cellphone on speaker." The man ordered. Cody quickly walked over and picked up her cell from the pile on the teacher's desk.

"Do it." He told her, tossing the cell. Claire easily caught it with her hand before dialing the familiar number.

"Put it on speaker." Cody added as she did. Claire did as he asked and set the phone on the desk.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

I bit his lip as I saw the caller ID and the video feed. Ok can't screw this up.

"DiNozzo." He picked up, keeping his voice even.

"Hey, you locate Cody's mother yet?" Claire asked evenly. I paused, knowing that the bad guys would be listening in.

"Agent Todd has her number and is trying to make contact." I replied, knowing Claire would get the idea.

"What is the number?" Cody asked. My eyes widened. Stupid DiNozzo, stupid!

"I don't know Cody, Agent Todd is on it." I deflected.

"I WANT THE NUMBER!" Cody shrieked.

"You better get him the number boss." Claire told me evenly. Normally I would grin at her calling me boss but right now it was just a reminder of how I was epically failing her right now.

"I'll contact Agent Todd and get back to you." I grimaced as I shut the phone.

"You had to say you had her number." Ziva scolded quietly.

"I know" I sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I know it wasn't."

"A mistake Gibbs would have made." Ziva quipped tightly. I glared at her. I already know I screwed it up and put all of them in more danger, I didn't need Ziva adding salt to the wound.

"Sir, DOD has been studying pictures of the bomb vest. This is the remote here. One shot could destroy it." The commander explained, pointing to a button in the center of the device.

"And Cody." Ziva pointed out in a duh tone.

"There's more than just one life at stake here ma'am." The commander countered.

"Ok hold on.." I held up a hand as I stood between the two. They both had good points but surely there was a way for everyone to walk away safe. There had to be, now I just needed to figure out what it was.

"McGee tell me your making progress." I asked.

"We're making progress Tony. Backtracking the connection to the computer now." Probie mumbled as he typed away.

"Ok they're in Triangle Virginia." Tim told us.

"Piggybacking off of WIFI node at the warehouse outside the main gate." Abby added.

"I'm sending you their address. Do you want us to cut the connection to the webcam?" McGee asked. I pursed his lips in deep thought. Couldn't do that because it would tip them off. Then there was the problem off narrowing down the location and getting there without them taking notice. We needed a distraction.

"Negative probie. I've got a better idea." I told them.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"You know what Tony this might actually work." McGee marveled as he and Abby went to work on Tony's plan.

"Don't sound so surprised probie." Tony quipped dryly.

"No he's right Tony." Abby added.

"We should have thought of it." She pouted before smacking McGee with the back of her hand. Tim whined in pain before repaying the gesture.

"What the hell was that?" Tony asked irritably.

"Um McGee tripped." Abby quickly answered.

"Fall down on your own time probie, can you make it happen or not?" Tony inquired. McGee rolled his eyes.

"The problem is finding the right stream to mirror Tony." Abby explained.

"We need to make a virtual hard drive.."

"To replace the physical one.."

"…and there's a key insertion phase so we're going to need…"

"…a natural buffering period so we won't be detected." The duo explained. Tony listened for a few more minutes as they rambled on.

"Guys, Phys Ed major here." He pointed out.

"We can do this tony." Abby answered simply.

"When?" Tony asked quickly.

"Uh now if you want." McGee answered.

"On my mark, DiNozzo out." Tony countered. As he clicked off Abby turned to smack McGee again.

"Ok what was that one for?" he questioned.

"Pissing off Tony, he's under a lot of pressure." Abby pointed out in concern. She couldn't imagine being inn his spot of leadership all the while his boss was MIA and his best friend was stuck in a room with a bomb.

...

Outside in the van the men perked up as they hear Claire's cellphone ringing.

"Answer it." Cody told her impatiently. Claire flipped it open and set it on speaker once more.

"We're here." She droned.

"Cody this is agent DiNozzo here. We have some good news. We have your mom." Tony explained. Cody froze before taking tentative steps towards the phone.

"You found her?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, she's being escorted onto the base as we speak." Tony told him.

"She'll be at the school in 20 minutes. You sit tight and we'll have a happy ending here." Tony added gently. Cody looked up at Claire in shock. She smiled lightly and winked at him, fully knowing that the cameras couldn't see it.

...

The mystery men listened as an armed escort was being led onto the campus.

"Do you hear those sirens Cody, you might just make it after all." The man sneered as he watched the feed. The man turned to his comrade.

' _The boss was right. She wasn't dead. but she soon will be´_ he explained in Spanish. The man pulled out his remote detonator and flicked it on to arm the bomb. As his hand hovered over the button, the camera feed suddenly glitched and revealed an empty classroom.

"What the hell?" he muttered as the two tried to get the feed working again. Claire popped into the camera and smiled at them.

"Suprise" She greeted, holding up a gun towards the camera. The man began pressing the detonator multiple times but to no avail.

"Boom" Tony muttered in the window, causing the men to jump. They both looked up to see that they were surrounded by armed agents.

"Not bad DiNozzo. Not bad at all." Gibbs mused from the other side of the van. Tony beamed at the praise.

...

Back in the NCIS office, everyone had gathered around Tony's desk munching on pizza.

"Brilliant Tony. Looping the bad guy's video feed while you evacuate the kids." Abby grinned at him.

"Right it was a good idea Tony." McGee added with a mouthful of pizza. Tony reached up to smack him on the back of the head.

"Hey?" McGee snapped jokingly.

"Boss. It's was a great idea…boss." Tony corrected, laughing along with Ziva.

"It was a slip of the tongue ok?" McGee muttered sheepishly.

"A Freudian slip of the tongue." Tony quipped, earning a glare from the man.

"Oh don't worry McGee, some things tony never forgets." Ziva grinned. Tony did a mini victory dance in his seat.

"That's true. So Tony, what movie gave you the big idea?" Abby grinned knowingly. Tony froze and looked up at her in confusion.

"Movie?" he asked.

"Oh yea…you know making the video of the classroom to feed back to the bad guys." McGee added. Tony frowned as he looked at his teammates sharing the same smug grins.

"Mm….uh….it just kinda came to me." Tony shrugged it off, picking up another slice.

"Oh I saw it!" Ziva exclaimed with a wide grin, Tony eyed her warily.

"It had these uh…terrorists..."

"Half the movies today are about terrorists." Tony quipped.

"No, no no…and they took over this bus and it featured that actress with the…the last name like an animal? Uh like a cow..ox.." she rambled on, Tony's expression dropping as she explained.

"Bullock." Abby supplied for her.

"Bullock! Yes, Sandra Bullock and I can't remember the title of the movie but its um.."

"I'm gonna look." McGee eagerly suggested as he walked over to type on Tony's computer.

"Oh probie don't you have a report to finish?" Tony protested weakly.

"I did it." McGee told him. Tony winced.

"Good for you. That's good. Oh wait….stop time." Tony paused and looked around the room with wide eyes.

"Has anyone seen Gibbs or Claire?" he asked as if just noticing the their absence.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Gibbs had grabbed me once we made it to the office and told me he had something to show me. This was all after the mild chewing out that I got about diving headfirst into the room. Despite his scolding I knew he was secretly proud of what I had done, and I knew for a fact that he would have done the same thing in my position.

"So Gibbs what was it you wanted me to see? I inquired as we neared the director's office. Gibbs just grinned mysteriously at me before pushing the door open. Inside I smiled at the Meyers family being reunited once again. Angela Meyers was alive and hugging her son tightly as they all sniffled.

"So this is what you were doing?" I mused, looking up at Gibbs. The man shrugged.

"I figured there was more to it. Turns out she was in hiding as a key witness involving a major cartel." He dismissed. I nodded in understanding. As if noticing we were there the family all turned and grinned at us. Mrs. Meyers quickly rushed over and hugged me, sending me a bit off balance at how abrupt it was.

"Thank you. Thank you for not giving up on Cody." She whispered tearfully. I smiled and gently patted her on the back, not really sure what to say. Once she was gone Cody shuffled over towards me, glancing up to make eye contact awkwardly.

"Thanks….and I'm sorry for how I acted in there." He muttered with a tight grin. I chuckled.

"There's no need to apologize. If anything, I was bringing the ass out of you by pushing buttons." I shrugged. Cody grinned at me before hugging me quick, not wanting to seem uncool.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

As Gibbs and Claire made their way back down the stairs Tony quickly leapt up, eager to get away from his nosy coworkers.

"Well I think it's about time we all head home huh?" he quickly suggested. As Claire rounded the corner Tony grabbed her arm and swiftly guided her to the elevators. Her eyes widened in surprise but she didn't protest.

"Got to get this one home, you know she's too traumatized to drive and such." Tony elaborated dramatically while everyone else shook their heads in amusement. Once the doors closed Claire turned to face Tony who was actively avoiding her gaze.

"What was that all about?" she inquired. Tony shrugged.

"Just wanted to get away that's all. You know stressful day and all." He told her dismissively. Claire figured there was other reasons but didn't press it.

"So….I have attitude problems huh?" she grinned. Tony groaned.

"I was hoping you would forget about that." He told her with a chuckle.

"Oh not for a while." She countered jokingly. Tony smiled and stared down at her thoughtfully.

"Well you know what else won't be forgotten so easily?" he told her. Claire rose a brow in confusion.

"Boss." He whispered deeply. Claire bit her lip.

"You liked that huh?" she murmured in amusement.

"Of course." He smirked, focusing on her lip that was between her teeth.

"Well I don't think you'll be hearing that again for a while." She teased. Tony tilted his head curiously.

"That just won't do, it could cause you a lot of problems." He muttered with a grin. Claire hummed as she leaned up closer to his face.

"Oh yea? What are you going to do about it?" she challenged with a devious glint. Tony beamed down at her. Just as he leaned down to kiss her she ducked out of his reach and out of the now open elevator doors.

"You'll have to try harder…boss." She giggled, backing away from the doors. Tony groaned at the way she said it. In his delay the elevator doors began to close and he quickly pushed his hands out to stop them before chasing after Claire who had darted away towards his cars.


	53. Chapter 53

[Hiatus 1]

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Claire walked through her house, hurriedly grabbing her bags and gun as she made her way towards the door. While she was distracted a hand came from seemingly out of nowhere and yanked her into a small alcove by the door. Dropping her bags in surprise, she yelped and pulled her fist back to strike the attacker but a set of lips caused her to falter. Tony grinned devilishly as he pulled away from his girlfriend.

"Tony! I thought you had left for work already." She scolded, perfectly comfortable wrapped up in his arms. Tony's grin widened teasingly.

"I did but then I changed my mind and turned right back around. I never could resist a beautiful woman." He hummed, being sure to latch his arms tightly around her waist to prevent her from escaping. Claire chuckled and shook her head at him, an amused grin on her face. Noticing that she wasn't getting mad about his little stunt he quickly swooped in and began leaving a trail of burning kisses down her neck. Claire sighed blissfully and tilted her head to grant him better access. She lifted her arms up to wrap around his neck and caught a glimpse of the time on her watch. Her eyes widened in alarm and she tried to jerk out of his grasp but Tony simply tightened his hold, continuing his ministrations.

"Tony.." she whined, gently pushing against his chest.

"Tony you're gonna be late to work." She reminded, her mind becoming fuzzy from the tingling left on her neck where his lips once were. Tony hummed thoughtfully and leaned in to peck her lips.

"Well…why don't I…just say I went….with you to get…coffee." He suggested, planting an affectionate kiss on her lips throughout. Claire leaned in to deepen their kiss before pulling away and staring at him admonishingly.

"Tony, it doesn't take 2 people to make the coffee run." She pointed out. Tony groaned but didn't give up. He pulled her in tighter against his chest, spinning her so that she was trapped between him and the wall.

"Well then I guess I'll be grabbing breakfast then." He shrugged, countering her protests. He swooped in and attacked her lips once more, getting high off the feeling. Claire giggled and pulled him in closer, running her fingers across the panes of his chest. A growl rose up in his chest as he pressed himself up against her even more. The action quickly reminded her of the problem at hand.

"Tony, we need to leave now so we aren't late." She insisted, running her fingers up and down his tie. Tony kissed her instead.

"A few minutes won't hurt. Besides I haven't finished my breakfast yet." He teased, once more moving his lips across her jaw and down her neck. Claire hummed in pleasure.

"Alright, it looks like we'll be running into traffic this morning." She sighed dramatically, completely surrendering herself to Tony. The man beamed in glee before scooping her off her feet in a bridal carry and setting her onto the couch, Claire giggling the whole time. Tony reached up to loosen his tie before descending upon her once more.

...

Almost a half hour late to work, Claire swiftly made her way into the bullpen. No one commented as it was her turn to grab the coffee, thus earing her a free pass to be late. As Ziva and McGee quickly snatched up their drinks they glanced over to spot Tony's empty desk.

"Tony isn't with you?" McGee questioned with a frown. Claire stiffened slightly but kept her expression neutral.

"Why would he be with me?" she asked him in feigned confusion. McGee simply shrugged. Before another comment was made the elevator doors opened once more, a huffing Tony quickly making his way towards them.

"I brought breakfast." He announced with a grin, quickly pulling out a box of donuts and placing it on McGee's desk, not caring that he was taking up the man's space. McGee glared at him.

"What is the occasion?" Ziva inquired warily. Tony frowned in offense.

"No occasion, I just wanted to do something nice." He defended. Everyone in the room rolled their eyes knowingly.

"Tony you don't do anything nice without ulterior motives." Claire pointed out with a smirk. Tony pouted and snagged a donut from be box before plopping himself down at his desk; the drink from Claire waiting on the edge.

"That hurts." He mumbled, his mouth full of dough. Ziva shook her head in disgust at his actions. Claire grinned in amusement and turned to McGee who was now staring at her face in confusion.

"What?" she asked, curious as to why he was looking so closely.

"You have something on your neck?" he gestured, trying to lean forward to get a better look at it. Claire leaned away and reached up to feel nothing.

"I don't feel anything." She frowned as she ran her hand up the side of her neck in confusion.

"Is that a hickey?" McGee sputtered as he got a better view of the small bruise.

"A what?!" she screeched and quickly darted over to her desk, yanking out a small compact mirror from her drawer. While Ziva and McGee were watching her curiously, Tony visibly paled and his eyes widened. Claire tilted her head to the side and her eyes widened in horror as she spotted the small blemish near her jawline. She growled and yanked her hair out of the bun she had it in, so she could attempt to cover it up.

"Looks like you had some company last night." Ziva hummed, smirking over at Claire as she became flustered.

"Yea well now he's not invited back." Claire muttered out of clenched teeth. Tony silently sat down at his desk, desperately trying to make himself seem smaller.

"You don't like marks? I find them rather alluring." Ziva commented, ignoring the looks from her coworkers at her bluntness.

"They're fine but not anywhere visible. I can't be taken seriously when I have love bites all up my neck." Claire countered, steam practically pouring out of her ears. McGee tried to hide his grin as he trailed back towards Tony's desk.

"No comments?" he inquired the senior agent, finding it odd that Tony had yet to make some sort of innuendo. Tony starred up at him incredulously.

"When she's fuming like that? I may push the limits but I don't have a death wish." Tony pointed out. McGee nodded thoughtfully, seeing his point.

"I'll be back, I'm gonna see if Abby has any extra makeup downstairs." Claire muttered as she made her way out of the bullpen.

"Cover up that hickey Conners." Gibbs quipped as she passed him by the elevators. Her faced flushed in mortification. How could he possibly know about it? He wasn't even here for the conversation and her hair was now covering it. Choosing not to comment she bit the inside of her cheek and caught Tony's eye as the doors closed. He gulped at the viscous glare she shot him. He was so dead. After a minute of silence his phone vibrated with a text waiting to be opened. **Abby's lab now. -C.** Tony grimaced, not needing to hear her voice to know how pissed she was. Giving himself another few seconds he quietly got up, making some excuse about needing Abby's opinion on some evidence.

...

Claire was pacing downstairs in Abby's empty lab. Once she had seen that it was truly empty she figured they had a few minutes before anyone would be down to bother them. That and Abby's office was fairly soundproof so no one could hear Tony scream. Ok maybe not scream but she certainly had a lot of yelling to do. She looked up as Tony cautiously entered the room, scanning for any sign of Abby.

"She's not in here, we should have some time." She told him cooly. Tony smiled sheepishly but she didn't return the gesture.

"So…"

"Not here." Claire quickly cut him off, pointing back to Abby's lab.

"Why in there?" he questioned, trying desperately to avoid the conversation he knew was coming. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Its soundproof and farther from prying eyes." she explained, making her way inside. Tony inwardly groaned before reluctantly following after her. Once he heard door hiss behind him, indicating it was closed he turned to face her. Claire sighed heavily, pulling at her hair before punching him in the chest…..hard.

"You idiot! How could you leave a mark like that!" she wailed, obviously distressed. Tony used one hand to rub his sore chest while holding up the other one in an attempt to calm her down.

"Look I'm sorry, I know I messed up. I swear I didn't even realize it was there." He attempted to explain herself. She ran a hand down her face turning away from him as she tried to get a handle on her emotions.

"This could blow it for us, Tony. I afraid of what will happen if we're found out. I like my job and I like being with you." She told him, much quieter this time. Tony smiled softly and reached for her, pulling her tightly into his chest. She whined but buried her face into his neck, taking calming breaths.

"We'll be fine. I'm sure we can easily come up with a cover story for all this mess that I seemed to have made this morning." He told her, running his hands up and down her back comfortingly. He leaned back to look down at her face, which was still in a pout. With a small grin he inclined his head down towards her and pressed a kiss to her lips. She didn't respond. But Tony was not quick to give up so he continued pressing kisses to her lips. Finnaly she broke out into a grin and kissed him back, wrapping arms around his neck. The moment was soon broken by the sound of an alarmed screech from just outside the glass door.

...

Abby hadn't anticipated walking in on that! She had waltzed in and spotted someone standing in her office space. Setting aside her project for the moment she carefully made her way closer and grinned when she spotted Tony and Claire having an argument. McGee had filled Abby in on the whole hickey incident and she assumed Claire needed someone to take her anger out on. Better to have Tony as her punching bag than her. She figured she would just wait until it was a good time to intervene before asking Claire who her mystery biter was. As Abby quietly watched her brows furrowed in confusion as Tony reached for a distraught Claire and held her tightly against his chest. She suddenly felt as if she was intruding on a rare emotional moment for Tony, as he didn't like others seeing him being sensitive. Of course Abby knew that he was a romantic at heart but witnessing it was different. However, no matter how guilty she felt about watching she just couldn't look away. Then out of nowhere the unthinkable happened. Tony smiled down at Claire and instead of offering some comforting words he leaned in and kissed her. Abby's eyes bulged out of her head as she stared. Maybe it was a joke, Claire would laugh it off in a minute. But she didn't, Tony kissed her a few more times and then Claire kissed him back. Abby was dumbfounded. Her brain began working once more as Claire reached up to wrap her arms around Tony's neck.

"What?!" she screeched, getting the attention of the two lovers inside. Claire and Tony leapt apart and looked over at Abby with wide eyes. Like lightning Claire raced out of the room, nearly colliding with the glass doors as they almost opened too slow for her. Abby began babbling unintelligibly as Claire grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the office. Being sure to turn around and lock the doors she sat Abby down at her desk. Tony fidgeted nervously before her, not meeting Abby's accusatory glare.

"Abby don't freak out please." Claire attempted to calm her friend down. Abby just looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"Don't freak out!? You two were just kissing!" she declared, gesturing wildly.

"I know, but you can't tell anyone." Tony insisted. Abby frowned at him.

"Well what is this then? You're not just doing that friends with benefits thing are you? Because Tony if you are I will kill you and no one will know!" Abby ranted heatedly, assuming the worst. Tony jerked back in shock while Claire snickered at her protectiveness.

"Abby it's not that. I lo…we're in a….we..." Tony sputtered, almost slipping a bit at the beginning. Claire tolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the chest.

"We're dating. Thanks." Tony grinned sheepishly at Claire, wrapping an arm around her. She understood his problems with labeling relationships but he needed to be able to spit it out at some point. Abby eyed them curiously.

"What about rule 12?" she asked. Claire and Tony winced.

"We're overlooking that right now. And what Gibbs doesn't know won't kill him." Claire shrugged. Abby's eyes lit up at that.

"Does that mean I'm the first to know?" she asked, quickly changing emotions on them.

"Yes and the only one." Claire pointed out, shooting her a pleading stare. Abby crossed her heart.

"No problem." Abby beamed, bouncing with excitement. Claire and Tony quickly let out a sigh of relief and felt a bit lighter about the whole situation. It was kinda nice to let someone else know about their relationship.

"Tony, I think McGee was looking for you, and Claire is to stay down here to help me." Abby suddenly told them, remembering part of the reason she came down here. Tony nodded and went to kiss Claire but remembered their audience and quickly shied away. Claire bit her lip so she wouldn't laugh at how uncomfortable he had gotten as they watched him dart off. Once he was out of sight Abby whirled around on Claire.

"What?" she gasped, still absorbing all this information. Claire fought to keep from grinning like a lovesick teenager.

"I know."

"You two finally…."

"I know"

"How long…"

"A few months." Claire admitted. The two women stood there quietly for a moment before bursting into cheers and hugging each other giddily.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

A small boat was scanning the cargo ship from Istanbul in the dead of night. Everyone on board casually milling about as this was part of the procedure when docking.

"This is so Usual Suspects." Tony remarked randomly. The four of us were sitting in a car doing surveillance on the outside while Gibbs met up with a contact on the inside. The whole operation was very hush hush but the we trusted Gibbs to get the job done. Ziva rolled her eyes from the driver's seat and took the binoculars from him.

"Tony, your dying words will be.. 'I've seen this film'" she quipped dryly. I snorted from the back and quickly covered it up with a cough.

"Gibbs even looks a little bit like Gabriel Burt." Tony continued, as usual ignoring all the comments.

"Okay who is Gabriel Burt?" Ziva asked, going along with it.

"An actor who boards a mysterious ship like this one searching for Kaiser Sose." he rattled off in a dramatic narration.

"Another actor?" she inquired.

"No, Kaiser Sose is a character in the film who may or may not exist." I explained for her. Ziva frowned.

"I'm confused." She muttered. I popped my in between the two front seats.

"So am I and I saw the DVD twice." I admitted.

"The sound of music confuses you." Tony bit back defensively. I glared at him and stuck my tongue out at him childishly.

"I love that movie." Ziva grinned. She took in a breath to let out a song from the film but Tony quickly lunged over to cover her mouth.

"One note and I will lock you in a room and make you listen to 'it's a small world' for 24 hours straight. Do we understand each other?" he threatened lowly. Ziva agreed in a muffled voice.

"So explain this movie to me." McGee piped up, breaking the silence. I groaned loudly as Tony eagerly went into detail about this very confusing movie. After what seemed like an eternity we were finally getting to the end of the movie.

"He looks to the broken coffee cup on the floor, looks to the photo on the wall. Looks.." Tony was cut off by an explosion coming from the center of the ship. We all car froze as we stared at the flames engulfing the ship with Gibbs inside. Everything else that happened seemed to go in slow motion. The four of us racing out of the car towards the dock. Calling the paramedics, securing the area. Finding Gibbs…..that was the most surreal part. He had been caught in the blast and somehow he managed to survive, for now. It was weird watching my seemingly indestructible boss get wheeled off by EMT's, rushing him to the emergency room. With everything going on we still had a job to do. Thankfully Tony quickly took command as he was the Senior Agent and put us all to work. It was nice having a distraction from worrying for Gibbs.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Back at the ship Ziva walked down the gangplank to meet Ducky who had arrived in the autopsy van.

"Ziva, what happened?" he questioned, walking towards her as she unlocked the trunk of the car. Once the immediate problems had been taken care of, McGee had gone back to get their gear in the car before heading inside.

"A bomb. One dead, one injured. You'll need body suits, tweezers, and those um…suction things." She explained evenly as she pulled out a few duffels of supplies.

"Turkey basters." Ducky answered for her.

"Yes, and many, many, many specimen jars." Ziva added, looking to Palmer who was getting the supplies out.

"Do you have all that Mr. Palmer?" Ducky inquired. Jimmy nodded and continued on ahead with the equipment while Ducky lingered to help Ziva carry some of her gear.

"How badly is Jethro injured?" he asked.

"Paramedics took him to emergency." She answered.

"Well which hospital? They have a level one trauma center at Portsmouth." Ducky pointed out.

"I didn't ask." Ziva answered dismissively.

"You didn't ask?" Dr. Mallard asked in almost a growl.

"No, once the paramedics arrived on site I had other priorities. The possibility of another bomb, the crew to detain, a crime scene to secure…" she listed off in explanation.

"Well the other three will know." Ducky quipped. Ziva's face screwed up in offense as she whirled around. Ducky paused and sighed, realizing his mistake.

"Oh Ziva I'm not implying that you don't care…." he trailed off as caught her ] expression. Ziva nodded but didn't look convicted as she powered on up to the ship.

"I know you care." Ducky insisted.

"I don't need reassurance doctor!" Ziva snapped defensively.

"Very well but I just want you to know that I know…"

"Ducky drip it!" she insisted as they walked across the boat towards the doors.

"Do you mean 'drop it' or 'zip it'?" he asked, used to her slips on American sayings. Ziva groaned in frustration.

"American idioms drive me up the hall." She growled in annoyance.

"Well actually its….oh never mind." Ducky began but thought better of it as he and Palmer followed after her.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Down below Tony was walking alongside another Agent that had been checking ID's along with Gibbs while on the ship. I trailed behind the two of them as the hallways weren't large enough to fit the three of us.

"One of the crew is missing. A radioman by the name of PinPin Pula." The man explained.

"Put out a bolo." Tony ordered. The agent nodded before branching off to a different hallway. Once we were alone I grabbed Tony's arm, scanning his face.

"You doing ok?" I asked him quietly. Tony was the one that couldn't really afford to be worried about the boss right now since everything was his responsibility as team leader now. But I knew that he really did care, despite how he pushed it down.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" he brushed off, not letting any other emotion slip through the mask he was wearing. Just as I was about to push the subject another voice cut through.

"Tony?" Ducky's voice called from behind us. The two of us waited for the doctor to catch up.

"Any word on Jethro?" the man inquired as he followed us down another corridor towards the explosion site.

"Not yet, Portsmouth promised that they'd call back in an hour." Tony explained.

"Well good, good." Ducky mused.

"We have a suspect?" Ziva inquired.

"PinPin Pula. What kind of a name is PinPin?" Tony muttered in confusion as we made their way up a small staircase. I smirked. At least his humor was still intact for the time being.

"Pilipino. In the dialog, it means rice-patty-dike." Ducky thought as he explained. Tony's lip twitched at the translation.

"Don't say a word." I instantly held up my hand in warning to Tony who threw his hands up innocently. The two of us snickered as we continued onward.

"I thought that was quite an accurate translation." Ducky mumble in confusion before following.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Ziva carefully stood outside of the room as she snapped pictures of the blast site from the doorway.

"You're going to have to look in there eventually McGee." She told the man, turning to look at where he was basically hiding behind the stairs.

"I already did." He insisted timidly, refusing to even turn towards the room.

"Uh uh." Ziva nodded but wasn't convinced.

"Ziva I don't think I can go in there." McGee insisted pleadingly.

"McGee." Ziva pursed her lips empathetically. Growing up in the environment she did, it was easy to forget that there was people like McGee who were more sensitive.

"I know." he shrugged.

"Don't let tony smell fear or…"

"Probie." Tony called from behind them, Claire following closely behind. As Tony had been bumped up to lead agent, she had quickly filled the role as his right hand man or woman rather.

"I got a special job for you." he elaborated.

"To late." Ziva muttered. McGee bit his cheek and waited for instructions.

"Bomb squad took a look at rice-patty-dike's foot locker. Tag and stow it in the truck for Abby would you?" he requested, jerking his thumb towards the exit. McGee's eyes widened in surprise at the out Tony had just offered him. He glanced over to Claire just to make sure he wasn't being pranked. She smiled softly at him and subtly jerked her head to the side, indicating for him to take the offer.

"On it boss." McGee let out a sigh of relief and quickly took off away from the carnage near him. Tony grinned as he watched the man go.

"I do love it when he calls me boss." Tony muttered proudly.

"Is that why you're being nice to him?" Ziva asked, kneeling to get other angles.

"Nice? I'm not being nice." Tony insisted, grabbing a large spotlight and shining it in the room for her.

"Footlockers is Probie work." He pointed out. Neither of them was convinced.

"Alright so I cut the Probie some slack. We've had a bad day." Tony muttered solemnly.

"Yes, a very bad day." Ziva agreed.

"What's the point of origin?" Claire asked, scanning around the room.

"55-gallon oil drum. That twisted ring of metal is all that's left of it." Ziva gestured to the mangled object in the corner of the room.

"What is an oil drum doing in a laundry compartment?" Ziva asked in exasperation.

"Well ships clean them and used them for storages, it was probably holding dirty laundry." Claire explained, looking around the decimated room. Blood splatters and remnants of on one knew what were splattered all throughout giving it a ghoulish feel.

"Very unsanitary. Fragments indicate a high explosive. Abby should be able to trace and tag it." Ziva continued.

"Why is the head and torso still intact and the rest of him so slushy?" Tony grimaced at the sight of the barely recognizable torso on the ground near them.

"Suicide bombers wearing an explosive don't look like this." Claire muttered.

"Except there's always something left of their lower extremeties. Do you see a foot?" Ziva pointed out.

"Not even a tootsie." Tony answered.

"A tootsie?" Ziva snorted humorlessly.

"A toe. Although in my generation tootsie also referred to one's sweetie pie." Ducky commented from behind him. The agents stood to let the doctor get a closer look at the scene. Ducky's mood instantly dampened as he glanced inside.

"Sweetie pie?" Ziva asked in confusion.

"Any word from the hospital?" Claire asked instead.

"Jethro is critical but stable." Ducky assured. His brow furrowed in confusion as he surveyed the scene.

"He….he wasn't in here when the bomb detonated was he?" Ducky asked incredulously.

"That corner." Tony pointed quietly. They all stared at it tensely, not wanting to dwell on the fact that Gibbs was in the room when it happened.

"How did he survive?" Dr. Mallard asked in shock.

"The washer and dryer shielded him from the main force of the blast." Claire explained just as softly, not wanting to dwell on it. Ziva smiled softly as she looked out the small porthole across the room.

"It's raining." She mused. Ducky looked at her out of the corner of his eye but said nothing as the thunder rolled up above, accurately fitting the mood of the evening.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

Getting what information I could I went back up to the deck to give a call to the director. I felt as if I was walking on eggshells giving that her emotions were fried over this whole Gibbs ordeal.

"Director shepherd." She answered, her exhaustion obvious.

"Yikes, agent DiNozzo here. Cynthia told me you stayed at the hospital. Is the boss awake?" I inquired.

"I am Agent DiNozzo. Do you have a sit rep for me?" she asked, her throat scratchy from emotions.

"I do Director Shepherd. Crime scene has been processed, evidence has been tagged, remains are on their way to autopsy. Officer David and special agent McGee are questioning the crew, we have an idea on the suspected bomber a radio man by the name of PinPin Pula. Philippineo. Suspected to be Abu Saif. A bolo has been issued for his apprehension, that is all I have to report ma'am." I listed off in a professional and tight manor.

"Agent DiNozzo."

"Director." I answered tightly.

"I was out of line." She told me gently, referring to how she had snapped earlier this morning.

"You are the director ma'am you cannot be out of line." I robotically countered.

"Please, I was bitching. Let me apologize." She insisted tiredly.

"I'm sorry." She apologized.

"If I may state an opinion ma'am?" I requested.

"Fire away."

"Never apologize it's a.."

"Sign of weakness." She finished for me.

"I was his partner too DiNozzo. I know all the Gibbsisms." She remined.

"Actually, he borrowed that one from The Duke." I corrected.

"John Wayne." Jenny agreed.

"He said its Joanne Drew and she wore a yellow ribbon." I smiled, sitting down on one of the barrels, feeling much more at ease now.

"Jethro's a lot like The Duke." She commented. I smirked, in agreement.

"I keep waiting for him to say, 'That'll be the day'." I quipped, imitating John Wayne's deep baritone. The director chuckled quietly.

"He said that in Paris to me once when I told him that I…." she trailed off before revealing too much. I brow rose as I only heard silence. I opted against pressing, already having an idea that the two of them had more history than they let on.

"When we were working together." She amended.

"Shouldn't he be awake by now?" I asked, steering towards a different conversation.

"You know Gibbs, he keeps his own schedule. Do you know what REM is?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Sure, rapid eye movement that happens when you're asleep or dreaming." I answered.

"That's what it looks like he's doing right now." Her voice softened.

"Oh well that's got to be a good sign then right?" I chirped. At least he's not brain dead.

"If it isn't a nightmare." Jenny countered quietly. I nodded silently, I guess that wouldn't be a good thing.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Inside the ship the captain grumbled sourly, lighting his cigar. McGee sat a few seats down from him while Ziva roamed about, heading up the questioning.

"How many times are you going to ask me the same question?" he snapped roughly. Ziva reached out and snagged the cigar from his mouth.

"No smoking." She quipped as she snapped it in half and tossed it aside. The other agent smirked from his spot in the corner. The captain growled at her in Turkish, spitting out a not so flattering word. McGee looked at her in alarm, knowing that it wasn't something nice. Ziva simply responded fluently with a corresponding threat. The man stared at her and chuckled nervously, realizing she understood.

"Wait what did you say?" McGee questioned.

"That I understood him." she explained nonchalantly.

"At least let my crew go ashore, they've been at sea for two months." The captain requested. Ziva chuckled humorlessly.

"Excuse me but you don't seem to be the type of captain who cares about the welfare of his crew." She pointed out.

"That's it! I want to speak to Turkish consulate!" the man demanded in exasperation.

"I….I can arrange that." The agent spoke up from behind them.

"Yes!" the captain cheered. However, McGee and Ziva both turned to stare at him warningly, causing the agent to shrink a little.

"….if, if NCIS agrees." He amended with a cough.

"We do not." Tony informed, striding into the room to join them, Claire on his heels. Tony pulled out a chair beside the captain and sat himself down, tossing his cap on the table.

"Learn anything Ziva?" Tony inquired, getting down to business. McGee frowned and turned to Claire, wanting to ask why he was suddenly so serious but she subtly nodded her head. It was better to just roll with Tony's rollercoaster moods.

"Capitan Meir knows more than he's telling." She hummed, shooting the captain a look. The man glanced between the two of them.

"I know nothing." He muttered. Tony grinned and leaned forward.

"That's very Sergeant Shultz." he pointed out, still grinning madly. Claire rose a brow in confusion. So now he was back to referencing shows?

"Tony how's the boss?" McGee asked, now standing beside Ziva.

"I know nothing." Tony recited in a horrible German accent, still staring at the captain who stared at him like he was insane.

"That's terrible." Claire frowned.

"Yea and not funny Tony." McGee deadpanned irritably. Tony's smile dropped as he looked at Tim.

"McGee it's the boss he'll be fine." he answered, a bit put out by how insistent McGee was about the serious stuff. At least Claire played along with him and didn't push.

"With me." Tony instructed, slipping his hat back on and walking out of the room. Ziva and McGee frowned at Claire as if she could translate his mood swings. She just shrugged and dashed off after him. McGee sighed before reluctantly following.

"He'll be living off coffee next." Ziva muttered, tailing in the back.

"Tony doesn't like coffee." McGee countered, but realistically he could see where she would make that conclusion. He was starting to take on Gibb's mannerisms as he took on Gibb's role for this case. The sudden leaving, no explanations, and brief instructions that they should blindly follow. But McGee also figured that as long as Claire wasn't making a big deal out of it then it was still ok, she was the one who knew him best. If he got out of hand he trusted that she would be able to help Tony deal with it.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Once we had made it to the top of the ship, Tony began gathering better information away from any prying ears. We had sent McGee ahead to NCIS hoping to help with paperwork and evidence.

"Why do you suspect the captain?" he asked Ziva.

"He smokes expensive Havanas and wears a 10 karat diamond." She explained. Well he sure likes to live fancy.

"Could be a zircon." Tony suggested.

"Never doubt an Israeli about diamonds." She countered calmly.

"Our Turk Captain likes money. The kind Abu Saif pays to transport weapons, explosives, and terrorists." She relayed, watching him out of the corner of her eye as we walked along the deck. I had caught the worried glances McGee and Tony kept shooting Tony all day. Yes he was acting a bit weird but he was smart enough to know that he needed to adjust some things to effectively run the show, so to speak.

"I'll flip ya to see who takes the captain in and who visits Gibbs." Tony suggested instead. Ziva pursed her lips.

"I'll take him in, you don't speak Turkish." She told us briskly. Tony frowned at how quickly she opted out of visiting Gibbs.

"Should we?" Tony pointed in the direction she had just taken off.

"Just leave her. She's concerned too but just in her own way." I assured. When it came to Ziva one thing was for sure, she would never let anyone see her emotionally compromised. Any emotion equated to weakness in her mind.

"Alright then I guess I'm heading to see Gibbs. You alright taking over here?" Tony asked leading us towards the railing so we'd have more privacy. The two of us leaned our backs against the railing. I smiled as Tony shifted close enough for our shoulders to touch.

"Yea, I'll call you if I run into problems." I assured, scanning the workers still moving about the deck. I turned my head fully towards him, just watching his expressions quietly.

"Will you be ok?" I asked. Tony let out a sigh before turning towards me and planting a strained grin on his face.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about it." I nodded, accepting his words for now.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Tony had changed into more comfortable gear before heading to the hospital to visit with Gibbs and the director. The two of them sat off to the side while doctors were checking over the boss in the bed.

"Coffee." Tony blurted randomly. She frowned and looked at him.

"Coffee?"

"A sure way to wake Gibbs." Tony elaborated lightly.

"Good idea….but he's intubated so we'll have to use the IV." She quipped.

"Ah." Tony mused, grinning along with her. Gibbs surgeon from yesterday approached the two of them, leaving the rest of the medical team to continued running tests and making the comatose man comfortable.

"Uh, tell Ms. Scuito that I didn't abandon him. The chief neuro would have just been here anyway." He explained to Jenny. Abby had been there shortly after the explosion in a frantic tizzy demanding to see Gibbs. The man was one of many that got the full effect of Abby's protectiveness for her team.

"I'm sure she'll understand." She assured with an amused grin.

"I hope so, I like women with fire." He smirked. Tony scoffed with a grin.

"So the dog collar and the tats had nothing to do with it?" he inquired knowingly. The man merely smirked and quirked an eyebrow before walking out.

"DiNozzo…..does he look in pain?" Jenny asked, watching Gibbs worriedly.

"Well I don't know. I've never seen Gibbs show pain director." Tony admitted, staring over at his boss that looked so different. His face full of red burn marks, head bandaged, and a tube coming from his throat. Jenny hummed and pushed herself off the wall to approach the bed.

"Doctor is he in pain….doctor?" she inquired. The doctor looked at her, his face thoughtful.

"Was this man a marine?" he asked instead. This caught Tony's attention and he quickly made his way over to join them.

"Yes," Director Shepherd answered hesitantly.

"Wounded in desert storm?" he doctor continued. Jenny looked taken back.

"He has a purple heart." She supplied, not overly sure when he got it.

"That's it." The man murmured in amazement.

"I treated him at Kuwait." He further explained, looking back at Gibbs curiously.

"Gibbs never told me he was wounded in desert storm." Tony muttered, not sure how he felt about his boss not telling him something so significant.

"Me neither, I just saw his purple heart." Jenny told him, just as lost as he was.

"He was in a coma when we evacuated him to Frankfurt. I mean talk about Deja Vu." The doctor shook his head.

"But is he in pain?" Jenny asked worriedly.

"Certainly not extreme pain. I mean he may be hurting but the only way to know is for him to tell us." The man shrugged.

"Why not give him painkillers just in case?" Tony asked, tearing his eyes away from the Gibbs.

"I want him to wake up. An opioid would only deepen his coma." He explained.

"I've just never seen Jethro like this." Jenny muttered solemnly.

"I have. That's why I remembered him." the doctor told her quietly.

"It's the expression he had back in '91. More anguish than pain." The doctor added, staring down at Gibbs.


	54. Chapter 54

[Hiatus: 2]

...

 **Tony's POV:**

"I got a better chance of hooking up with Jessica Alba than these guys to at infiltrating Sealift." I quipped to the commander in SECNAV.

"Every sailor has to go through a series of stringent security checks to be issued a special ID." I elaborated for the man who listened in amusement.

"110 civilian crews, Agent DiNozzo. Abu Saif only needed to slip a man in one." He countered calmly.

"If Galib knew who that was or the name of the ship, why'd he run?" I asked in confusion, referring back to what we had gathered on what happened before the ship blew. The man Gibbs had been sent in to meet with as part of an undercover OP had bolted when the plan was to apprehend him and get the information during 'interrogation'. Nothing was adding up to what we had thought. Galib ran and without Gibbs here to explain then I had to try and get the story through other methods.

"Why didn't he just let us arrest him as planned? Give us the intel and then continue undercover to Gitmo?" I added, speaking my thoughts aloud. The man pursed his lips in thought.

"Either he didn't know and was close to finding out, or he was onto something big that an NCIS arrest would jeopardize." He supplied.

"Well what's bigger than blowing up one of our ships?" I inquired wide eyed.

"Blowing up a port." The man deadpanned. Ah yes….forgot about that.

"You ever hear of Port Chicago?"

"No but I saw the TV movie, Michael J. Whites is this guy who…." I trailed off, catching the man's expression.

"I…I see your point." I muttered apologetically, I winced back at Claire who was sitting quietly taking notes in the chairs behind me.

"Is there any intel on the crew, especially this…PinPin Pula guy. We need his photo for a bolo." I redirected, getting back to the problem at hand.

"We took surveillance photos of the crew while they were docked at Istanbul." The man told me.

"Great." I nodded, making sure Claire made a note of it.

"If Galib had intel on Abu's plan, did he have time to tell Gibbs?" the man asked. I paused and stared at him thoughtfully. I hated that everyone asked me about boss's condition, even though I knew it was a logical choice. This whole situation was hard for me to, but no rest for the head man I guess.

"Maybe, they were together when the bomb went off." I told him hesitantly. The man shook his head and sighed.

"Galib was a good agent. Let's hope Gibbs comes out of this coma in time." He muttered.

"He will." I assured, not doubting Gibb's ability to do the impossible. As of the last update he was perfectly fine, other than the fact that he didn't seem to be wanting to wake up. So right now it was up to his stubborn ass to come out of the coma. Gibbs certainly worked on his own schedule but he was never late. The man nodded before cutting off. I sighed and ran a hand down my face tiredly.

"They have a better chance than you do." Claire's voice chimed from behind me. I frowned, taking off the headset and turned to look at her in confusion. She simply looked at me.

"Come again?" I asked, plopping down in the seat beside her.

"You being with Jessica Alba? They have a much better chance at finding him." she quipped, a grin slowly breaking across her face. I scoffed, secretly glad she had chosen to break up the tension.

"I take offense to that. I can be very charming, even to the hottest of women." He countered, winking at her. Claire rolled her eyes, standing up and facing me.

"Enough dreaming boss man. Time to get back to work." She insisted yanking up on my hand and dragging me out of the room. I grinned softly to myself as I subtly squeezed on her hand. In times like this I was thankful to have her in my life.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Down in Abby's lab all the lights had been dimmed, fitting the interior to match the rainy disposition of outside. McGee frowned as he entered, glancing around for her.

"Abby?" he called.

"I'm in here." A quiet voice spoke up from the lab room behind him. He frowned and continued searching for her in the eerily quiet lab. Finally, he spotted her hidden among the shadows on the floor of her lab, tightly hugging Bart the hippo to her chest.

"What are you doing?" he asked gently.

"I'm worrying." She answered honestly. McGee nodded in understanding.

"Me too." He told her quietly. Abby looked up at him with a sad smile. They both glanced over as a couple of techs brought in a crate of effects for her to analyze.

"You can just set those right there." McGee told them, gesturing beside evidence table. Abby slowly stood up, tightening her hold on the stuffed animal. As she did a very distinct fart sound was heard. Instantly the two men looked at one another, desperately trying to contain their snickers.

"What's a matter? You never heard a girl fart before?" she asked them bluntly, setting Bart down and releasing another noise. They quickly quieted down nodded awkwardly, walking out the door. McGee's eyes widened in alarm.

"Guys…that…that was the hippo." He quickly told them, not wanting anyone to think that of Abby. Abby frowned at him.

"You sure McGee?" she challenged dully. McGee shrugged and bobbed his head asuredly.

"Well yea because you sound more…" he trailed off awkwardly as she approached, staring at him thoughtfully.

"…feminine." He added lamely. Abby sighed, snatching the camera from his hands.

"Like a hippo cow?" she inquired. McGee turned around uncomfortably as Abby slid the SD card in so she could run the crime scene photos into her computer. He quickly skirted around to stand in the space between her computer monitors, not looking at her. Abby paused and tilted her head.

"What aren't you telling me?" she asked dryly. McGee looked over at her innocently.

"What do you mean?" he played off.

"You have that….3 little pigs look." she elaborated, scrutinizing him.

"What?" Tim asked in confusion.

"The 3 little pigs….they were afraid to open the door because the big bad wolf was outside." Abby told him as if it were obvious, but her voice was still lacking its usual lightness. He shook his head, pursuing his lips in denial.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He insisted. Abby let it go as she turned back to her monitor.

"Whoa…this is definitely going on my wall." She mused while McGee turned his eyes away from her nervously.

"I should be a professional photographer." Ziva joked as she strode into the lab, the other two's eyes darting to her direction. McGee glanced away as she walked up to Abby.

"The director hasn't called." Abby informed her, assuming that was why she was here.

"About?" Ziva questioned, looking between the two. Abby frowned.

"About?" she repeated humorlessly.

"Gibbs." Abby pointed out with a warning glare at the Israeli.

"Oh." Ziva nodded lamely before redirecting her attention to the computer monitors, ignoring Abby's mounting frustration.

"She didn't call you, did she?" Abby asked instead, not able to block out all of her biting sarcasm.

"No." Ziva told her quietly.

"Cause you know the way you're acting, you might have just…I don't know forgotten to tell us." Abby spat back, barely keeping her composure.

"Ziva do you notice anything different in here?" McGee suddenly asked, shooting Ziva a pointed stare. She paused and glanced around the dark room.

"No music." She pointed out.

"That's right no music." McGee grinned and pointed at her in agreement.

"You know you usually, play music in here." He continued, nervously glancing between the two women.

"What if those were Gibbs' guts, smooshed all over that room." Abby ignored his attempted redirection and gestured towards the picture on the screen, still staring Ziva down dangerously.

"Oh for god's sake Abby, they're not." Ziva shook her head dismissively.

"I said what if they were." Abby raised her voice, not backing down. Ziva stared at her curiously, trying to figure out what was happening.

"The color would be more….coffee brown than red." She pointed out casually. Abby's frown morphed into a glare as she straightened up instantly. Without a word Abby reached out and slapped Ziva across the face. As a reflex Ziva shot one back and the two continued another couple of rounds while McGee watched in worry. Once they had their fill the two stood stock still, Abby glaring while Ziva stared back calmly as another round of thunder rolled overhead. Poor McGee stood there with wide eyes, unsure what to make of the situation as he practically hid behind the computer station.

...

Down in autopsy, Tony was standing with Ducky as the man pointed out the x-rays from the body.

"His skull was shattered when the bomb blew him against the overhead. As if he were fired out of a cannon." Ducky pointed out.

"The oil drum." Tony pointed out as he glanced over the skull, his arms crossed on his chest.

"Precisely. Now don't ask me what our guest was doing, in an oil drum, sitting on a bomb. Cause I haven't the foggiest" Ducky mused as he turned to DiNozzo. Tony sucked on his teeth and tilted his head, staring at the x-rays for a moment in thought. He grunted, coming up with nothing.

"No other explanation?" Tony inquired.

"Well none that would explain these remains." Ducky told him, making his way to the table. Tony glanced at the skull once more before following.

"I need a positive ID on this body, Duck." Tony told him softly, his eyes roaming over the charred remains.

"Well DNA tissue is in Abby's capable hands. How's Jethro?" Ducky quickly transferred topics. Tony looked over at the man.

"Still out, the directors with him." he whispered.

"Yea I'd better get down to Portsmouth." Ducky suggested.

"Not until you finish the autopsy." Tony countered, getting an odd look from Ducky. However, Tony quickly began his exit.

"And while you're at it, ask your guest what he was doing sitting on a bomb inside of an oil drum." Tony suggested as he walked out, similar to Gibbs fashion.

"You sound like Gibbs." Ducky quipped in amusement.

...

Tony sighed and braced himself against the wall of the elevator outside of autopsy, waiting for it to arrive. The whole leadership stress was staring to take its toll on him. Ordering Ducky around was odd enough. On top of that Claire was trying to convince him to start using McGee as he was the new Senior Agent while Gibbs was out. It was just easier to rely on Claire than to start pushing his weight around and ordering McGee to do his bidding.

Just as the doors opened a body barreled out and collided with Tony, taking both of them to the floor. McGee's eyes widened in alarm as he looked down at Tony who was groaning and holding his nose in pain. Tony huffed out a muffled growl while McGee lifted up and gaped in panic.

"Oh boy, Tony I'm sorry I'm so sorry." McGee stuttered in a panic. Tony quickly cut off his babbling with a couple grunts and a hand in the air. He held up a finger while McGee scrambled off of him.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry." He muttered again and winced as Tony slowly peeled himself off the floor. Still grasping his nose Tony calmly made his way into the elevator.

"I'm sorry, Tony." McGee muttered once more, the silence from Tony unnerving him. Tony held up a finger to stop him before snapping and pointing at the empty spot to his right. McGee scrunched up his face in embarrassment and shuffled inside. As the doors shut Tony glared, turning to face the man.

"Hate the sight of blood, Probie." Tony muttered. McGee didn't answer but nervously looked over, his face saying it all.

"Too bad." Tony quipped, releasing his nose to reveal a rather gory nosebleed, McGee's expression morphing into one of horror.

"Oh boy." He groaned.

"Handkerchief." Tony requested in a deadly calm manor.

"I don't have one." McGee whimpered nervously. Tony's face twisted into a snarl as he leaned down to hold McGee's tie to his bloody face.

"Whatever you came to say, it better be pretty damn important." Tony mumbled nasally as McGee quickly took off his tie. McGee paused.

"Abby slapped Ziva and Ziva slapped her back." He gasped out. Tony instantly shot up, his eyes alight with both alarm and intrigue.

"Damn, I missed it?" he asked in disappointment. McGee nodded quickly, sharing Tony's wide-eyed stare. As the door opened Tony slipped out, taking the tie with him.

"Alright, assemble the team including Abby. I'll grab Claire to help with my face so don't worry about her." He ordered McGee who was trailing behind.

"Wh…Abby?" McGee asked. Tony sighed and turned to face McGee who had stopped in the middle of the walkway. He made his way to stare Tim in the face before taking off the tie, reminding McGee of the mishap.

"Right." Tim quickly muttered before darting off to the elevator.

...

Ziva stood in the bathroom washing her face with cold water in an attempt to cover up the fact that she had been crying. As she stood there staring at her reflection, everything everyone had scolded her for rang clear in her mind. All the accusations that she simply didn't care. She closed her eyes, taking in a breath to recompose herself. Looking back at the mirror she nearly jumped, spotting another figure looking back at her. She whipped around, slipping back into her usual cool demeanor. Claire said nothing just stared at her with soft eyes.

"Just so you know, emotions aren't anything to be wary of. Despite what you may think, sometimes they actually make us stronger." Ziva said nothing but stared quietly. Encouraged by her lack of protest Claire continued.

"Despite what you may want others to think, I know you do care. You just suck at showing it." Ziva's lip quirked ever so slightly while Claire grinned. Saying what she needed to Claire nodded and began her exit.

"Claire…" Ziva quickly called, nervous as to the consequences of this interaction. Claire held her hand up.

"No worries. I'll let you tell if and when you want." She assured with a nod, leaving the Mossad agent to sit quietly in the privacy of the women's bathroom once more.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Walking back into the bullpen I was exhausted, more mentally and emotionally than anything. Ziva was playing ice queen, Abby was hypersensitive so there was no telling if or when she would crack up about Tony and I, McGee was going all shy and timid instead of being Tony's SFA. Then Tony was a whole other problem, acting all stoic and Gibbish. He's not Gibbs and its weird seeing him try to fill those shoes to the letter. Reaching my desk I collapsed with a sigh and ran my hands over my face in attempt to calm my brain. I was praying that nothing else would go wonky today.

"Hey, I have a little problem." A nasally voice broke through the silence. I spoke too soon. Reluctantly I peeked between my fingers to see what Tony did now. I frowned, spotting what I think was McGee's tie up against his face.

"What happened?" I scanned over his face warily. Tony sighed.

"McKlutsy happened." He whined, revealing a mass of red under his nose. My eyes widened as I shot up.

"Did it break?" I asked, instantly reaching up to prod his nose. Tony winced and shied away from my fingers.

"Nah, just busted and sore." He dismissed gently. I grimaced, getting a good look at the mess on his face.

"Want to get out of here….get some coffee….clean my face off." He suggested suddenly. I quirked a brow. It was the middle of the day….and a case. Tony usually didn't wander off like this.

"Okay…..why don't we get you taken care of before we go into any social settings." I suggested, already grabbing my coat so we could leave. Tony nodded in approval and walked beside me, holding the tie back to his face. As we wandered into the elevator I peered closer at the makeshift hankie in his hands.

"Is that McGee's tie?" I asked in confusion. Tony hummed with a devious grin peeking out from underneath the fabric.

"It was the least he could do." He mumbled casually. I grinned, rolling my eyes. Of course, it was.

...

Arriving at one of the cafés nearby I watched Tony quietly out of the corner of my eye. He was standing there stoically, his eyes narrowing every so often as he thought. Again, much like Gibbs tended to do. Reaching the counter Tony smiled charmingly at the girl working behind the register, instantly causing a blush to bloom across her cheeks.

"Two coffees. One with two cream no sugar, and a black." Tony quickly ordered, already knowing what I would usually get. However, it was the second order that caught my attention. I kept quiet as she quickly put in our order and took his money. Walking towards the bar where they would be picked up I finally broke the silence.

"Since when do you drink coffee?" I inquired causally, holding back my true bafflement at this turn of events. Tony scoffed nervously, further proving my thoughts that this was not about his taste preference.

"I drink coffee." He pointed out lamely.

"Sure, very few times a year." I deadpanned. Tony shrugged, still not meeting my eyes as he tried to avoid this conversation.

"What's with the black coffee? You hate it." I continued undeterred.

"So, what's your point. Maybe I changed my mind." I snorted humorlessly.

"Tony, you are one of the most habitual people I know. You don't just 'change your mind.'" Tony pursed his lips and had the decency to smile sheepishly. At this moment, our drinks arrived and we both reached out, smiling thankfully at the barista. Tony quickly made his exit with me darting off after him. He was not getting out of this.

"This new change wouldn't have anything to do with proving something would it?" I probed. At this Tony stopped and turned to face me with a frown.

"I'm not trying to prove anything." He insisted with a pout.

"Ok, let's say that's true. Then what's with all the Gibb habits?" I pointed out, not wanting to push him too much. He jerked his head back thoughtfully.

"Like what?" he asked after a moment. My eyes wandered over him, curiously. Was he really doing this subconsciously?

"Well the disappearing without a heads up, stating lots of open ended questions, Ducky mentioned you walked out of a room posing cryptic questions. Now the black coffee in the middle of the day. Tony that's not like you. It comes across that you're trying to be Gibbs just because you're the new point on this case." I told him honestly. Tony nodded and listened as I voice my concerns.

"I don't know. I guess that's just what I think of to do. Gibbs gets the job done doing all that quirky stuff, and its done well; and now that I'm in charge…..I'm afraid no one will take me seriously. I'm not exactly the prime example of professionalism." He admitted with a shrug, so as not to look too vulnerable in public. I smiled in understanding. Glancing around I gently tugged on his arm and pulled him off to the side of one of the buildings, giving us a bit more privacy.

"Tony, you are a great leader and you are doing just fine. But if you try to be someone you're not then this won't work. Be yourself. You have been working under Gibbs longer than any of us, and he has trained you well. Just do your job and don't worry about everyone else. If they have a problem with how you handle things then they are just going to have to live with it." I assured him softly, reaching up to press my palm to his cheek comfortingly. Tony smiled a little and reached up to hold my hand there, running his thumb across the back of my hand. He nodded quietly.

"Are you ok now?" I asked leaning down to catch his eyes. He smiled, a bit more real than it had been.

"Getting there." He whispered truthfully. But at the moment that's all I wanted to hear. Instinctively I got up on my toes to press a swift kiss to his lips, earning a grin from the man.

"Well that certainly helped." He quipped, much like his usual self. I chuckled in amusement before stepping back a little.

"Alright then, I suggest we get back to work." I pointed out sternly, but still smiling at him. Tony groaned childishly before following me back down the sidewalk. He seemed a bit more relaxed as we made our way back towards the navy yard. Taking a sip of his coffee, he suddenly blanched and coughed in disgust.

"How does he drink this stuff?!" he wailed, staring at the cup as if it had bit him. I laughed outright, unable to contain my amusement. Once I had settled down a bit I simply offered up my own cup. Tony grinned, trading drinks with me. He took a sip of the new cup and twitched his lips, still not loving the taste but able to tolerate it. I grinned, and sipped my own. I didn't enjoy black coffee but it got the job done.

"If anyone asks…..this is black." Tony ordered pointedly. I nodded, just content that he was slowly getting back to his normal demeanor.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

A few hours later everyone was sound asleep at their desks, minus Abby who was snuggled up with Bart behind Gibb's desk. McGee had rounded everyone up and as they had been waiting for the last two members the adrenaline of the long day had worn off and sleep had claimed their weary bodies. Hearing the elevator chime Ziva shot up in a daze, quickly composing herself. As she glanced over she grinned, spotting Tony coming out with a cup of coffee in his hands, Claire trailing behind with her own cup.

"Pay up McGee." She snapped her fingers smugly. As she had predicted, Tony had gone down the Gibbs trial and gotten a cup of coffee which she assumed was black if he kept the trend. McGee blinked his eyes hard, and staggered over to Ziva's desk handing her some money from his pocket. Tony frowned and snatched it up from her desk before she could reach it.

"Hey!"

"If you're going to bet on me, I collect." Tony answered tiredly, his mood dimming a little now that he was back on the case.

"Abby, front and center." Tony called. Abby quickly shot up, getting another fart from the hippo as she scrambled up.

"You too Ziva." He called, eyeing both of them. Claire frowned at their body language. She quietly turned to McGee was was watching with wide eyes.

"Did I miss something?" she whispered curiously.

"Let's go!" Tony shouted when the two were reluctant to move. McGee looked at her in surprise. Tony must not have filled her in.

"Abby slapped Ziva and Ziva slapped her back." He blurted quietly. Claire eye's widened comically.

"No." she gasped in surprise, feeling like a gossiping teenager. McGee nodded heavily. Without another word, the two settled in at McGee's desk, anticipating the show that was bound to happen.

Tony stood in the center of the room, staring at the girls when they stopped in front of him. Abby looked sheepish while Ziva chose to look the other way.

"I know what happened." He quietly murmured. Instantly the two began talking over one another as explanation.

"Hey!" he shouted, silencing them.

"If there's gonna be any bitch slapping on this team, I'll do it." He informed them sternly.

"Clear?" he asked, glancing pointedly at them. He took their annoyed silence as a yes.

"Good, now shake hands." Neither one of them moved.

"Shake." Tony told them once more. Abby frowned but was the first to turn and offer her hand. Ziva pursed her lips but shook it anyway.

"There we go, now that wasn't so tough, was it? Now how about a little hug." Tony continued. Ziva scoffed but Abby turned and embraced the woman in her typical fashion, surprising Ziva a little as she hugged back.

"There we go, come on. Now a deep tongue kiss." The two women glared and punched Tony in the chest. He took it and grunted in displeasure.

"Now we feel better." He grinned mischievously.

"Alright what do ya got McGee?" Tony began, tossing the bloody tie back onto his desk. Tim glanced down at it distastefully.

"Well we have Singapore surveillance photos of the Bahkir Kamir crew." He informed, pulling it onto the big screen.

"Make me hardcopies McGee. Captain Mahir will identify PinPin Pula for the bolo." Ziva requested, watching the slideshow.

"What makes you think he won't lie?" McGee inquired. Ziva simply shot him a devilish smirk. Meanwhile Abby peered at Tony curiously as he began drinking in an eerily familiar fashion. She shot a look over to Claire, subtly gesturing towards Tony. Claire shrugged. It wasn't her place to elaborate.

"Abby." Tony called not looking her direction.

"Um….the tag and tracements on the metal fragments were Simtex from the Czech Republic. Kadafi before we found him was handing out Simtex like taffy to any terrorist with a sweet tooth." She summarized, handing him the file.

"Well the eliminates my washing machine malfunction theory." Tony mildly joked.

"DNA results?" he inquired.

"They should be in by now." Abby informed him. Tony gave her a look.

"Then what are you doing up here?" he told her. Abby rose her brows in amusement.

"Um somebody called a conference." She pointed out before taking a desk. As she worked McGee turned to Tony in confusion.

"You don't think that's Galeeb in autopsy?" her asked curiously. Tony just stared at him pointedly, again much like Gibbs.

"He wants to be sure." Claire muttered, narrowing her eyes at Tony.

"I've asked Telavi and Captain Mehir is a blimp on the radar." Ziva added.

"Blip." Tony whispered under his breath. Claire smirked, now the Tony-Gibbs behavior ratio was staring to come back to about 50-50. Not great but progress.

"DNA confirmed, the body in autopsy is NCIS Agent Abahd Galeeb." Abby piped up from the side. Tony ran a hand over his mouth.

"Ok, any hits on the bolo?" he asked McGee.

"Too many without photos. The Leos are calling in reports on every Philippino sailor in the area." McGee muttered.

"Did you run them down?" Tony inquired, making his way toward Gibb's desk as Abby was occupying his.

"Tony…..there's 250 thousand Philippino sailors. That's more that any other nationality in the world. The way the reports are coming in you would think that…"

"Hey!" Tony sharply cut off his rambling.

"I don't wanna hear how tough it is McGee. I want you to run them down." Tony ordered. McGee gaped at him and stood up defensively.

"Stop playing Gibbs." He countered irritably. Tony glared at him.

"There! You're doing it again, right now." McGee exasperated, throwing his hand up in frustration.

"Ziva will you help me out here." McGee asked, looking to his partner.

"It's true Tony. You're even getting greyer around the temples." She agreed, pointing a finger at his hair. Abby scrutinized him silently, walking over towards the desk. With a sigh Tony looked to her, his eyes asking if she was on board with them.

"You're not Gibbs, Tony." She answered with a sympathetic shrug. Tony pursed his lips in frustration and looked over towards Claire. Not wanting to draw attention she sent him a pointed stare, reminding him of the conversation they just had. He straightened up in determination.

"You're right. Acting like Gibbs doesn't make me the boss…..being senior agent does." He pointed out sharply.

"So if drinking coffee, staring, or whacking the back of your head….helps me lead this team. Live with it." He growled, leveling them all with a warning look. Biting the inside of his cheek he stormed off, leaving them in subdued silence. Everyone looked to Claire, as if assuming she would talk him down or take their side.

"He's right. Tony is going to lead the best way he can and you're just going to have to live with it. It's the least you could do right now." She scolded before sitting at her own desk, ignoring them all.

...

A while later in interrogation Captain Mahir was sitting across from Ziva who had yet to look up from her PDA.

"Are you Turkish?" he asked, pressing his fingers together on the table. Ziva didn't react.

"Perhaps your father….or grandfather were Turkish?" he continued, watching her curiously.

"Before they come to America." He backtracked, now fiddling with his fingers in the awkward silence.

...

"Can you see Ziva as a belly dancer?" Tony smirked, his back against the window in observation. Claire glared at him, causing Tony to backtrack.

"Yes you would be hot too. But can you imagine it?" He told her with a grin before glancing at McGee who stood beside him. McGee shot him a disinterested stare.

"He brought it up." Tony defended, jerking his thumb towards the captain.

"Why? Cause he asked if she was Turkish?" McGee inquired in confusion.

"From Russia with Love." Tony explained with a movie reference.

"Bond is ordered to Turkey…to steal the lector machine. When this beautiful…I mean is there any other kind in a James Bond movie….defecting Russian double agent. Tatiana Romonova, played by Danielle Bianchi…" Tony prattled on. McGee and Claire shared a look. This was going to be a long explanation.

...

"Greek." Mehir grinned, tapping the table in triumph.

"You are Greek." He determined, looking to her for conformation. Ziva still did not answer.

"Greek, that's why you hate me." He elaborated knowingly.

"I am not Greek." She deadpanned.

"Greek Cypriate? It would explain you knowing Turkish and hating me." Mehir tried again.

"I doubt Cyprus has a liaison officer in the US." She pointed out boredly, still messing with her PDA.

"But…" she finally glanced at him.

"You are getting warm." She acknowledged before looking down again.

"Liaison?" he asked in confusion.

"From the French word liai…which means to bind. In this case bound to NCIS and Mossad." She explained. Instantly the man rolled his eyes upward, muttering 'god help me' in Turkish.

"Too late captain." She quipped.

"I have your dossier." She smirked, showing him the screen of the PDA she had been scanning through.

"Another French word."

...

"Dean Keaton. That's it, dean Keaton is the character Gabriel Byrne plays in the usual suspect." Tony chuckled. McGee blinked hard, desperately trying not to engage the man. While Claire tried to stifle a yawn.

"I knew it would come to me." He muttered smugly.

"Yes, we're so glad you did." Claire droned in annoyance. _Did Ziva get Mahir to crack yet?_

...

The captain sighed.

"I am not a terrorist. I did not smuggle weapons into Palestine I swear it!" He insisted.

"Or help suicide bombers into the port of Ashdod?" she asked, disbelievingly.

"Mossad blames me for that too?!" he asked incredulously.

"And much more." She hummed quietly.

"Now look I am no terrorist. I fight no jihad." He protested. Ziva slammed her hand down and glared murderously at the man.

"You profit from it, you swine!" she snapped.

"And for that you should die." She added, quieting the man. She smiled dangerously, taking in the worn-out expression on his face.

"Fortunately for you captain Mehir, Politic Practique has suspended Israeli reprisals against all but terrorists." She mused, staring him down.

"And you say you are no terrorist?"

"I swear by god." He begged her earnestly.

"Convince me." She ordered, dropping her PDA and pulling out photos from the file beside her. Splaying them out before him she stared again.

"PinPin Pula." The man licked his lips before going through the photos.

...

"Lisa Jeroe, is one of those belly dancing women. Very hot." Tony grinned.

"She'd be a grandmother by now." Claire pointed out, grinning smugly as Tony grimaced at the new image in his head. McGee finally understood what this long explanation story was about.

"Ok wait a second I get it, Ziva looks like her which is.." Tony quickly shushed him.

"Pay attention Probie, Ziva's about to get a photo for the bolo." her ordered, turning around to face the room. McGee didn't comment but turned to stare expectantly at them. The captain silently pushed a photo forward. Zvia looked at it a moment before lifting it up to show the observation room. McGee studied it a with a nod, dashed off to put out the bolo.

...

 **Meanwhile…..**

Gibbs thrashed against nurse and Doctor gently holding him down as he regained his breathing.

"He calls me Ducky. Welcome back Jethro, we've all been a bit worried about you." Ducky told him as he had been visiting when Gibbs awoke from the coma rather violently.

"You were in an explosion." He doctor explained to him gently.

"I remember." Gibbs gasped out, still taking labored breaths as he calmed down.

"Good most people don't remember the trauma." The doctor consoled. Gibbs looked at Ducky with a frown.

"I don't know him." he gasped out in confusion. Ducky looked to the doctor in curiosity. Gibbs didn't remember?


	55. Chapter 55

[Hiatus:3]

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Jenny made her way into the bullpen, a bit more upbeat than she had been. After everyone had gathered they were eagerly waiting for the news on Gibbs.

"I have good news. Gibbs has regained consciousness." Jenny began. Abby cheered and began jumping up and down before embracing McGee giddily. However, the others were a bit skeptic.

"There's a but coming isn't there?" Claire pointed out, examining the director's face. She nodded silently.

"However, there is also a problem." Tony frowned as he looked at her questioningly. He was still seated at his desk with Claire perched on the edge of it while the rest of the team was standing in the aisle.

"He has some memory loss." Director Shepherd explained.

"Retrogressive amnesia is totally normal after severe trauma." Abby assured.

"It happens every time the boss smacks me on the back of the head." Tony agreed casually.

"You know I had amnesia after my car crash." McGee added, Abby gesturing to him as if to prove her point.

"Did your car get t-boned in Lego Land, Probie?" Tony teased.

"Tony, I told you about when I totally my Camaro when I was 16. That day is still a blank to me." McGee defended.

"Sounds like my first year of college." Claire muttered, getting a chuckle out of Tony. However, the Director stared at them with a frown.

"Well Gibb's blank is the last 15 years." She deadpanned with a sorrowful smirk. Everyone's expressions dropped and they all fell in silent shock.

"To him its 1991 and he's a Marine Gunny Sergeant wounded in Desert Storm." She elaborated in their stunned silence.

"He doesn't know he's an NCIS special agent?" Ziva asked.

"I doubt it. He didn't recognize Ducky." Jenny answered. Abby's eyes widened in even more.

"Wait if he doesn't know Ducky then…." She began but Tony filled the rest in for her.

"He'll never remember the rest of us." he finished quietly. All the agents stared down in despair at the thought of Gibbs not remembering them. He had filled a father figure in all of their lives and now he didn't know who they were.

"I'm sure it's just a temporary condition. In the meantime, we have an Abu Saif terrorist to apprehend." The director reminded. Abby pursed her lip and rose her hand up in question. Jenny's lips quirked up in amusement.

"I really don't know anything more Abby."

"Can we still visit him?" Abby asked quietly.

"Not just yet. His neurologist Captain Gilson will let us know soon." Jenny explained. Abby shot her hand up again and the director stared at her as if to ask 'really'.

"Can I come to the restroom, I'll come right back." Abby asked nervously. Jenny sighed.

"If anyone else needs a potty break, now's the time to do it. We meet at 17:10." The director quipped sharply before walking off. Abby quickly dashed away with McGee on her tail.

"You know what that means." Claire mused, turning on Tony's desk so she was facing him.

"The directors taking over the investigation." Tony answered, staring off at some spot on the floor.

"Probably but I was thinking that if Gibbs doesn't remember the last 15 years, he would be a Probie." She pointed out, thinking about the oddity of that.

"Gibbs would never let her take over." Tony shook his head, trying to assure himself of what was happening.

"Not the old Gibbs. But Probie Gibbs." She trailed off pointedly. The two of them shared a look and Tony lept out of his chair, taking off after the director. Claire watched him go with a triumphant smirk, knowing that would be his reaction. He would want to honor what Gibbs would do.

"Well played." Ziva quipped from behind her at her own desk. Claire shrugged innocently watching Tony dash up the steps.

...

"Director Shepherd." Tony politely called, bounding up the stairs after her.

"Yes DiNozzo?" she asked, not stopping in her walk. Tony quickly made his way up to walk next to her.

"I want you to understand that in Gibb's absence as the team's senior special agent, this investigation is mine." He told her politely but pointedly.

"Is it?" she mused.

"Yes it is ma'am." He quickly assured.

"And if I were to dispute that promotion?" she asked casually.

"Then you would be a fool. And you are no fool Director." Tony easily refuted. As they came to the top of the stairs Jenny stared at him with a bemused expression.

"This will be a long, tough investigation. You're overloaded as it is and no one knows this team….better than me." He made his case, staring her down stubbornly.

"Except for the boss." Tony added as an afterthought.

"Which evidently isn't me." She commented with a challenge behind her comment. Tony didn't react but kept calm.

"I was speaking of course of the team boss, which is Gibbs. You are the, agency boss." He clarified carefully. He watched as she nodded silently.

"Not if you keep telling me what I can and cannot do." She countered.

"I would never do that ma'am." He assured quickly.

"Then what is it that your telling me?" she inquired calmly.

"Let you handle the big picture and let me handle the two-wheeler." He explained metaphorically. She stared at him with a small smirk while Tony stood his ground. Albeit nervously, but he still remained composed.

"I always intended to Tony" she whispered after a moment of tense silence. He frowned uncomfortably.

"Then…..why did you….why did you make me say all that just now?" he asked in slight embarrassment.

"I just wanted to see if you had as much guts as Gibbs." She shrugged before walking past him. Tony blinked in confusion as she wandered back to her office before grinning triumphantly. Apparently he had passed the test.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

Tony paced in front of the big screen, going over everything we had so far. With Gibbs down we had to try and piece together what happened on that ship ourselves.

"After the autopsy that Ducky completed, he discovered that Abahd Galib was 'inside' the oil drum when the explosive detonated." Tony explained.

"Why would he be in a laundry oil drum?" McGee thought aloud.

"Maybe he was looking for his laundry." Abby shrugged.

"This is serious Abby." Tony quickly pointed out in displeasure.

"Oh listen to the pot call the kettle black." Ziva snipped. Tony glowered but didn't turn. It didn't help that he caught me smirking in amusement at her jab. She wasn't wrong.

"I got that right, didn't I?" she mused proudly.

"No." Tony bit back childishly, however McGee shot her a thumbs up across the room which she returned.

"Yes." She quietly cheered. Tony whirled around and glared at McGee.

"Probie, why was Galib in that oil drum?" he asked once more, prodding for an answer.

"He was hiding?" Tim suggested.

"From who? Gibbs?" I countered.

"Maybe, after all he ran from Gibbs even though the plan was he was supposed to get arrested in front of the view." Tony pointed at her thoughtfully.

"But how did PinPin Pula know that Galib and Gibbs would be in the ship's laundry?" Ziva imputed.

"Right because they would have had to put the bomb inside the oil drum before they got there." Abby tacked on. I watched Tony begin to pace out of the corner of my eye.

"Gibbs knows." McGee commented.

"Gibbs also thinks that the giants won the Superbowl and Dancing with Wolves is an Academy Award nominee." Tony quipped. That was also true.

"I love that movie." Abby hummed distractedly.

"I do to, those native Americans were so macho in the…"

"Enough" Tony quickly cut Ziva off. He whirled around abruptly.

"Abby I want a reenactment of the explosion ok? Using crime scene photos, measurements, Ducky's aut.."

"Autopsies and findings." She finished for him.

"I know how to do a computer reenactment, Tony." She pointed out calmly. Tony pursed his lips in agreement as she went off to do that.

"Ziva what did you get out of the cook uh…what's his name." he snapped his fingers trying to recall the name.

"Pallona Tu. From the same Philippino village Baswan as PinPin. He's hardcore Abu Saif. He won't talk unless I…"

"No torture." I told her sternly, Tony nodding in agreement. Ziva frowned in displeasure and rolled her eyes.

"He won't talk." She corrected.

"Go try." Tony ordered.

"Ok, but you're tying my feet." she sighed.

"Hands." He corrected with a huff.

"Those too." She commented, grabbing her bag and heading to the elevator.

"McGee did PinPin's photo get out in the BOLO?" I asked, looking over towards him curiously.

"Yes."

"Did naval command get it?" Tony added.

"I sent the fax out to all 110 ships there's no way its going to infiltrate sealift." McGee assured.

"He blew up Galib and put Gibbs in a coma. Rule number three." Tony growled.

"Never underestimate your opponent." Tony recited. McGee and I frowned in confusion. I know I hadn't been with the team as long as Tony had been but I'm pretty sure that's not rule three.

"Well actually rule number three is .."

"DiNozzo's rule numbero tres…Probe.." Tony rhymed smugly.

"Gotcha." McGee nodded, looking at him warily.

"Never underestimate your opponent." He agreed, sending me a confused glance. Again all I could do was shrug. I guess he's making his own rules now.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

"Can you imagine how scary it would be to lose the last 15 years of your life?" Abby pondered, talking with McGee as she set up the reenactment.

"Oh god." McGee muttered.

"What?" Abby inquired.

"I would still be in high school." be groaned. Abby let out a whine of agreement.

"Uh yuck. Zits, braces, raging hormones." She shivered in disgust.

"I know. I used to walk around all day with my notebook in front of me" McGee grimaced. Abby perked up and smirked at him knowingly.

"In front of your what McGee?" she inquired. McGee's eyes widened in alarm and he scanned the computer monitors for a distraction.

"The laundry room is off. It should be 3.962 meters wide." He pointed out lamely. Abby smiled in amusement before putting in the correct measurements.

"Better?" she hummed.

"Yup." McGee nodded awkwardly.

"It's gotta be accurate." He told her with a strained grin. Abby nodded in mock understanding.

"Absolutely…so was it one of those tiny little spiral notebooks or one of those big 3-ring binders?" she asked him with a curious grin. McGee shuffled uncomfortably and glowered at her.

"And where were you 15 years ago Abby?" he deflected smugly.

"So where did you find Gibbs?" she quickly asked, gesturing to the computer. McGee grinned in satisfaction at her evasive response.

"You afraid I'm gonna find out…" he stopped when Abby quickly slapped him on the shoulder, glaring at the computer.

"What was that for?" he asked incredulously.

"Distracting me." She quipped.

"I was not distracting."

"Gibbs." Abby insisted, pointing at the room on the screen. McGee rolled his eyes.

"Between the dryer and the bulkhead" he finally relented. He watched as she imputed a person in that space.

"A little closer to the bulkhead." He instructed.

"And the autopsy report states that Galib was sitting on the bomb." McGee added as she placed another person in.

"Which consisted of 113 grams of simtex." Abby commented.

"Wow you can compute the amount of simtex used that accurately?" he asked in intrigue. Abby straightened up proudly.

"I am a scientist McGee I can compute anything accurately. Including the size of a notebook required to.."

"Stop."McGee deadpanned, not wanting to indulge in her curiosity about his measurements.

"What are we stopping?" Claire asked as she made her way into the room. Abby grinned deviously, ignoring McGee's pleading expression.

"Just curious as to what kind of binder McGee held in high school." She informed shamelessly.

"Oh so you can do calculations on little Tim?" Claire asked. McGee stared at her in horror.

"Can we not?" he requested, his face flushing in embarrassment.

"It's not that bad McGee, besides it isn't that hard to figure it out. Like I know Tony carried a 3 ring back in his high school days." Claire easily told them. However once it was out of her mouth the two others whipped around to stare at her incredulously. Well McGee did, Abby's expression was mixed with wicked intrigue. Claire scrambled for an explanation.

"Oh come on! This is Tony we're talking about, and we were friends in college. When drunk he has no self-control and I some of his exes liked to boast about him to me. I guess they saw me as a threat or something. Don't act so surprised." She shrugged off. As Gibbs would say, when you lie be specific. McGee eyed her for a moment before leaving the subject alone. After all she made a good point and technically she wasn't lying. Abby smirked at her before turning back to her task when Claire glared at her.

"Anyway…..can you detonate the bomb please." McGee requested after a moment. Abby pressed the buttons and set off an explosion….including the sound which was turned up on high. The noise scared McGee right out of his chair and he scrambled to regain his composer. He turned to Abby in annoyance as the girls held in their laughter.

"Sorry I forgot to tell you…..i added sound." She smiled sheepishly.

"Yea, uh can we try that again without sound." He asked still mildly annoyed.

"It's a little loud huh?" she asked. McGee nodded in a 'duh' fashion.

"And let's go frame by frame so we can see what happened." Claire requested.

"Of course." She agreed and set it up before running it once more. McGee walked to stand in front of the plasma so he could see it better.

"In the first microsecond or the time it takes to blink your eye, the bottom of the barrel and Galib's lower body are atomized. The oil drum is disintegrating but retains enough integrity to blow what's left of Galib into the overhead. In the last microseconds the oil drum disintegrates, Galib it thrown into the overhead and Gibbs is…dead." she realized, looking at what Gibbs should have been. Smashed and blown to bits against the wall. Claire frowned at the sight, obviously something was missing.

...

 **Claire's POV:**

The three of us brought our findings up to the bullpen.

"If Gibbs had been standing when the blast happened then he would have been blasted into the bulkhead and shredded by shrapnel." McGee pointed out as the animation played on the plasma.

"So he had to have ducked for cover before the bomb went off." Abby added.

"He knew." Tony realized. Abby nodded in agreement.

"What's wrong with this picture?" Ziva questioned.

"Nothing, McGee and I triple checked all the measurements."

"Not with your picture." Ziva quickly assured her.

"Did I make another idiomatic mistake?" she asked turning towards the rest of us.

"No, you mean somethings wrong with what we know." I clarified, staring at the animation on the screen.

"Exactly." she pointed. Ziva began ticking off points on her fingers as she reanalyzed it.

"We know Galib ran, we know Gibbs pursued him, we know they were in the ships laundry, we know that Galib sat on a bomb inside the oil drum, and thanks to Abby and McGee we know that Gibbs knew that a bomb was about to explode. And we know that PinPin a missing sailor on the Amir Bakir is an Abu Saif terrorist. Probably the one who planted and detonated the bomb." She explained.

"You left out that PinPin means rice-patty-dike but other than that damn good summation Ziva." Tony acknowledged.

"Thank you." She gave him a small side glance. It wasn't often that he complimented the team.

"So as Ziva said, what is wrong with this picture?" I asked again.

"Gibbs knows." McGee pointed out again, earning a glare from Tony.

"But he doesn't remember." Tim amended with a frustrated sigh. We were getting nowhere fast and with Gibbs out of the picture I don't know if we can fix it.

...

 **3** **rd** **Person POV:**

Tony looked through the giant magnifier Ducky was holding over Galib's neck in autopsy.

"That bones cut." Tony pointed out in realization as he spotted the mark on the spinal cord. All four agents looked to Ducky for the rest of the explanation.

"Yes, his throat was cut very deeply. You were slashed from ear to ear, weren't you?" Ducky mused, looking down at the body.

"Machete or a bolo knife." Claire pointed out, looking back down at the cut.

"I believe the Philippinos call it a parang." Ducky explained, telling it more specifically to Mr. Palmer who he knew would find it interesting.

"Well whatever they call it, that answers one of our questions." McGee frowned.

"And it poses a new one. If Galib was dead…"

"Then who did Gibbs follow into the laundry?" Tony finished for Ziva.

...

NCIS brought the captain back into the interrogation with Ziva while the other three watched from observation.

"You insist, this is PinPin Pula?" Ziva questioned, sliding the photo back to him.

"I insist, yes. I like this word. I insist this is PinPin." The captain told her. Ziva groaned and rubbed her face in aggravation.

"I don't believe you." She told him.

"Why would I lie to you when you threatened to kill me?" he asked pointedly.

"It is not a threat….I will kill you if you lie, captain." Ziva told him icily.

"I believe you." The man mused nervously.

"I am the one who has doubts." Ziva insisted. The captain sighed and looked at her seriously.

"It is PinPin….I swear it." He reiterated. Ziva growled and swiftly pulled out her gun, laying it on the table beside her. The man stiffened at the sight of it.

...

From observation McGee's eyes widened as he watched.

"That's not loaded is it?" he asked warily. Tony pursed his lips and watching thoughtfully.

"Would Gibbs allow Ziva to carry a loaded weapon in there?" he asked.

"No" McGee muttered.

"And I'm not Gibbs right?" Tony pointed out, throwing his words back at the Probie. McGee's eyes nervously flitted from Tony to Ziva. As McGee nervously watched Ziva interrogate the man Tony turned his gaze towards Claire, sharing a devious grin with her. McGee said some hurtful things earlier, why not let the man sweat it out a little.

...

Ziva grabbed the gun, initiating the captain to stand and make his way to the opposing end of the table. Ziva mimicked his actions, prowling around the room threateningly.

"Are you positive?" she asked coolly.

"I am positive, absolutely positive. How many times to I have to tell you." The man quickly told her, getting even more nervous as she slowly sauntered towards him. She stared at him and pursed her lips. Ziva leveled her gun at his head, pinning him against the mirror and held up the picture.

"Once more." she insisted in a light tone.

...

In observation, the three others quickly ducked out of the line of fire. Tony took Claire off to the side as he ducked on an instinct. McGee darted in the other direction, even more nervous about whether the gun was actually loaded.

...

"Take a good look." Ziva told him.

"I don't need to look, that man was on my ship for months. It is PinPin Pula." The captain told her.

"He is Abu Saif?" Ziva probed rapidly, hoping to catch him offguard.

"Yes, he is Abu Saif." He quickly confirmed.

"Who ran from customs?"

"Yes, yes he ran when your guy…" the captain froze, hitting his head back against the window. He had slipped up badly. Ziva glowered at him and released the picture, putting both hands on her gun still aimed at his head.

"You knew it was PinPin and not Galib at the customs." She growled. The captain's eyes bugged out as she pulled back on the hammer.

"They paid me, I was quiet. He paid me to be quiet, but PinPin never told me there was a bomb, I didn't know that. I never knew!" the man begged earnestly. Ziva snarled and pulled the trigger. The captain wailed as he slipped to the floor, recovering from the heart attack of the click coming from the empty gun.

...

McGee let out a sigh of relief now that he knew it was empty. Tony chuckled at the man's panic, earing himself a glare.

"Ye of little faith." He mused before sauntering out of the room. McGee pouted, knowing he was a bit harsh on the man and he probably deserved that. He looked over as Claire's hand settled on his shoulder.

"Don't take it too hard. He's not Gibbs but he does know what he's doing." She commented, sending him a soft smile.

...

In the bullpen, Tony had called Jenny down to discuss their new findings. On the plasma, there was a photo of that was not PinPin.

"That's the NCIS photo of Abahd Galib that I showed Gibbs, what's your point DiNozzo?" she asked turning to the man curious as to why she was brought in.

"The point is director, that PinPin passed himself off as Galib during customs check." He explained, letting McGee pull up the surveillance photo next to it.

"Gibbs would have expected Galib to change his appearance going undercover. Maybe longer hair, growing a mustache, dirtying himself up." Claire listed, looking at the two photos. Pinpin was similar in appearance, to Galib if he had altered his looks to seem more rugged.

"So when PinPin handed him Galib's passport it was good enough." The director realized.

"To pass the mustard." Ziva chimed in.

"Muster not mustard." McGee corrected helpfully.

"Galib's documents are vetted to get him on any crew in the world." Jenny told the team, staring a worried look. They all knew the implications of that and it wasn't good.

"Including the Cape Fear or Cape Horn." Tony told her, already knowing the danger of this attack.

"We sent PinPin's photo in a second bolo. Both ships confirmed he was not onboard." Ziva explained.

"Send it again, alias Abahd Galib. Get me the crew rosters from sealift command." Tony ordered, looking to McGee. The man nodded before dashing off to his desk.

"DiNozzo call MCTAC, I want the NSO, pentagon, FBI, CIA, hell get me everyone on ASAP." Director Shepherd ordered as she headed off to her office. Tony watched her go before staring thoughtfully at Claire who was standing beside his desk. She had noticed Ziva stalking off to the elevators but made no mention of it.

"My gut tells me we're missing something." Tony muttered lowly as he waited on the phone.

"Gibbs." she answered, turning towards the man.

"Yea, Gibbs." Tony agreed with a solemn nod. Gibbs was what they desperately needed to fill in the crucial pieces.

...

That night, Tony, McGee, and Claire were at their desks taking phone calls while Ziva was out.

"I don't know maybe she hid her signal."

"Just call me back, he will remember you absolutely."

"He insisted."

"Any minute now." Their overlapping conversations filled the bullpen. Suddenly they all perked up as the familiar ding of the elevator sounded, hanging up as Gibbs stormed his way in wearing scrubs with Ziva on his tail.

"Boss." They greeted in shock, standing to attention.

"McGee." Gibbs greeted looking at Tony.

"Uh boss I'm McGee." Tim corrected, as the agents followed Gibbs instinctively looking much like little ducks crowding behind their mother.

"Yes!" Abby cheered, throwing herself at him as he rounded the stairs.

"Hey Abby." Gibbs groaned, tilting backwards at the force of the embrace. His team quickly scrambled to pull him back upright.

"Great to remember you Abs." He told her in a muffled voice, trying to continue his trekk.

"Ducky, good to remember you." Gibbs greeted the man with a handshake.

"How did you mother ever leave you on a bus." He joked, referring back to the story the doctor had rattled about before realizing Gibbs didn't know him.

"I have no idea." Ducky sighed, joining the mob that was scrambling after Gibbs.

"Should you be out of the hospital Gibbs?" Abby inquired worriedly.

"There's no time Abs. I'll talk to yo both later." He assured, having only his team follow him. Gibbs paused for a breath on the steps and stared at the photos still on the plasma.

"I should have known it wasn't Gailb." He sighed. All four quickly assured him it was fine and normal, not wanting to upset the man.

"I would have made the same mistake." Tony assured.

"You would have DiNozzo I know, that's why I'm so pissed." Gibbs told him jokingly before reaching over to slap him on the back of the head. Tony beamed as they continued up.

"You didn't forget me!" he claimed giddily. Claire smiled as the teams mood seemed to have lifted significantly now that Gibbs was back.

...

In MTAC Jenny Shepherd was sternly arguing with the agencies on the call, unaware as to who had recently shown up.

"The Cape Fear is loaded down with tons of munitions Deputy Director Welsh." She pointed out to the NSO director.

"Which is why we cannot permit her to reach Gibraltar without a Navy search team." He informed her.

"Agreed but it that frigate signals a heave ho of 'prepare to be boarded' PinPin Pula will blow the Cape Fear. No one will survive." She growled.

"If he's on board and if he's a suicide bomber." Welsh dismissed, obviously not very concerned about the situation.

"You're risking 19 civilian lives on 'if' Director Welsh." The captain of another sea crew imputed sternly.

"In comparison of it blowing near a cruise ship, 19 will seem an acceptable loss captain." Welsh disputed.

"No death is acceptable when it's unnecessary." Gibbs announced as he made his way beside Director Shepherd. The rest of his agents hung back to watch, knowing that it wasn't their place to speak now that the best people were on it.

"Deputy Director Welsh, Special Agent Gibbs." Jenny quickly introduced. Gibbs glanced to the side, spotting the two ships nearing one another on the satellite image.

"This terrorist isn't after a cruise liner." Gibbs told him earnestly.

"Islamic terrorist love soft targets." Welsh told him.

"No, he wants the marine assault ship the Cape Fear is replenishing in the gulf." Gibbs quickly countered.

"You don't know what he wants, he's a terrorist. It could be the cruise ship, the Suez canal…"

"He told me!" Gibbs shouted. Welsh rose his brows skeptically.

"He told you." He reiterated skeptically.

"PinPin Pula is an arrogant son of a bitch. He thought the bomb he planted would kill me." Gibbs explained. Claire scoffed from beside Tony, grabbing his attention.

"Who put this asshole in office, he's going to get everyone killed." She growled under her breath. Tony, sensing her genuine distress, subtly crossed his arms to reach one hand over and run his thumb along her bicep where the others couldn't see it. Claire's stance eased ever so slightly.

"Look he's not a suicide bomber." Welsh dismissed again. Gibbs looked down at how close the ships were getting on the screen.

"For god sakes don't allow that frigate to break off!" he pointed at the footage urgently. Welsh shook his head.

"Can't do that." He explained. Gibbs looked to the Director in exasperation, and turned to set a steely glare at the man on the screen.

"Is everyone up there as stupid as you!" Gibbs screamed to Welsh.

"PinPin Pula is on the Cape Fear, he's the radio man. He intercepts every bolo we sent and he replies 'no PinPin here'." Gibbs continued angrily.

"We got that agent Gibbs, its why we didn't communicate with them until now." He pointed out, watching as the ships came side by side. Gibbs scanned the other commanders on the call.

"Jeff thank god you're here. Can you get your seals on board without being seen?" Gibbs requested frantically.

"We can execute a covert search within 10 hours." The man nodded.

"The Cape Fear will have entered the bay by then, that's unacceptable. If that happens then it will be on some tourist video camera." Welsh pushed.

"The sailors on that frigate have video cameras." Gibbs retorted.

"We can confiscate those videos." Welsh told him. Gibbs looked at the man as if he were insane.

"What?! You don't want this being seen?!" he practically screeched.

"An accident at sea is better than an act of terrorism" Welsh explained calmly, not fazed by the thought of putting innocent lives in danger. Gibbs whirled around, spotting the vessel about to board the Cape Fear.

"It's too late!" he screamed frantically. Staring one last time at the Navy men who were about to board the Cape Fear he glared at Welsh.

"You bastard." Gibbs spat before storming off. Everyone watched silently as the ship blew, taking all the innocent lives with it.

...

In the director's office, Gibbs glared at a spot on the desk.

"I was wrong." He muttered hollowly.

"You weren't wrong." Jenny quietly assured.

"I was angry at Mike. I never understood why he quit. Until now." He explained standing up and looked down at her intently. During his stay at the hospital Mike Franks, his boss at NCIS back in the day, visited in hopes to jog his memory some. In that time Gibbs admitted that he was sour for Franks walking out on him after the higher ups didn't listen to his warning and people were hurt. Much like what happened a few moments ago. Gibbs had hurt and never understood how the man he looked up to could just walk away from a job like the one they had. Now he knew, and he felt that Mike was justified.

...

Down in the bullpen everyone waited silently for Gibbs to return. They watched as he went straight to his desk and rummaged through his drawer. Tony perked up, knowing what he was searching for.

"Oh, I got it for you right here boss." He explained, pulling his gun and badge out from one of his drawers.

"I got it from the medics when they took ya." He added, walking over and holding them out to Gibbs.

"Appreciate it." He nodded, taking the items and looking them over. He walked around to stand in front of Tony face to face.

"You'll do." He told the younger man softly. Tony frowned but looked down to see Gibbs placing his gun and badge into his hands. He stared at Gibbs calmly but the worry in his eyes was prevalent. He now understood the intent, Gibbs was handing the team to him. He was leaving and that was terrifying for the SFA. Gibbs grasped him on the shoulder and squeezed in a comforting manor.

"It's your team now." Gibbs answered the silent question in the room. The gravity of his statement hit and everyone stared at him in shock. Gibbs was leaving. The man made his way over to McGee's desk.

"Tim, you're a good agent. Don't let him tell you otherwise." McGee clenched his jaw, keeping his tears back. The only time Gibbs had called him Tim and given a direct compliment. It made the moment much more hurtful. He nodded firmly determined to stay composed for his boss.

"I won't boss." McGee assured. Gibbs turned to Abby who was about ready to break, her eyes already red from unshed tears.

"Gibbs." She gasped out before he pressed a finger to her lips. Without a word, he leaned forward and kissed her temple with a soft smile. Gibbs then turned to Claire who was watching with a schooled expression She refused to shed tears in a such a public setting, and it was determined to prove herself to Gibbs in this moment. He stared at her, placing a gently hand against her cheek before pulling her into a hug. Claire swallowed thickly, tightening her hold on the man just a bit.

"Take care of him." He murmured so only she could hear. As they pulled away she shot him a confused stare. Gibbs returned it with a knowing glint, getting her to lips to quirk. Of course, Gibbs had known the whole time, why had she thought any different. Claire nodded, acknowledging his order. He then made his way over to Ziva who was handling it the best on the outside. But he could still see the soft sheen of tears in her eyes.

"I owe you Ziva." He told her. The Mossad agent grinned but it didn't reach her eyes.

"I'll collect…Jethro." Gibbs smirked. He glanced around at his team, knowing that his short goodbyes were completed.

"Give me a ride Duck." Gibbs requested as he placed a hand on the man's shoulder, leading them to the elevators.

"Of course." Ducky assured quietly. Gibbs turned to look back at his team who was watching him go. Thinking back to when his mentor left, he smiled thoughtfully, knowing it was the same way he wanted to leave.

"Semper fi." He told them before walking into the elevator cab.

...

 **Tony's POV:**

I trudged up to the familiar house, thankful that all this mess was done for the day. Director Shepherd had given the team…my team…a few days off to sort out this whole change of command. I sent everyone else home early while I stayed behind to do some of the paperwork involved. It was surreal. Sure, I could talk a big game about taking charge but I never imagined Gibbs would actually leave. If anything, I would expect to take command after Gibbs went in a hail of gunfire or something of that nature. After all this turmoil I had going on, I knew I couldn't go home alone. Reaching the door I took out the key and unlocked it, setting my bags and jacket on the rack behind the door. I frowned at the dark house, the only lights coming from the living room. Slowly I walked in to spot Claire curled up on the couch with a sad expression. I took an extra moment to glance around at what was scattered near her and looked at the movie playing. I knew this mood and I was more than happy to ride it out with her.

"You must be pretty despondent over this huh?" I asked. She jerked in alarm, clutching her chest before weakly glowering at me.

"I'm not despondent." She protested with a pout.

"Claire, I know you. Right now you and I both know that you just need a real cry." I softly corrected, making my way over to the couch. She frowned cutely and crossed her arms defiantly.

"I do not need 'a real cry'" she defended. I smirked in amusement. I always did like stubborn women.

"Claire you're in your pj's wrapped in your giant snuggly blanket, you have wine and a tub of ice cream on the table. To top it all off you're watching Titanic, which you always watch when you want to cry but don't want to admit it." I listed off, gesturing to each point as I did. Whenever she would was truly broken over something she would go through this ritual. Snuggling on the couch. Drinking wine so she would loosen up. Ice cream is a standard comfort food. And Titanic. That in itself was very unique to her. She knew the movie made her cry so she would put it on to convince herself that it was the only reason she had cried that night. Claire hated to admit that she got emotional over 'trivial' things. I smiled as she glanced around, realizing that I truly did know her that well. With a sigh, her lip trembled and she looked up at me with that sad face, nearly breaking my heart.

"Fine I'm upset. Care to join me?" she asked hopefully.

"I wouldn't miss it." I assured her before heading to her room to grab some sweats. I'm sure some would say it stroked my manly ego to have her so dependent on me during her times of weakness. I'll admit that its some of it but I genuinely loved being the shoulder she cried on. I was one of the handful of people that have ever seen this side of her and that was a privilege I strived to honor. Once I was dressed I made my way over towards her and situated myself under the blanket. Instantly she shifted so that I was propped against the arm of the couch with her nestled tight against me. I reached to take a sip out of her wine glass before turning my attention to the movie. I wrapped my arms around her, giving her a sense of comfort and protection as she worked through the emotions that would eventually come out. It was the least I could do for her. She had my back all day at work so I was damned determined to be there for her at night when she needed the support. So when she cried over Gibbs, conveniently at the moment Jack lets go, I'll be there for her. And when the morning comes that we have to be back at work, I know she'll be there for me when I need her to be. This whole team leader idea was a lot less daunting knowing I had her in my corner.

...

...

...

 **So that's the end of season 3! Thanks to all who have been following this story and I hope you continue into the next book. I will take some time to streamline my story lines for the upcoming season before posting the sequel. I have lots of plans for Claire and Tony that should get some heated reactions ;) either way I hope you like it. So stay tuned for adventures in the coming seasons.**


	56. Sequel

Hey the sequel to Miss Me is now up on my page!

Look for **Forgive Me.**


End file.
